Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

PRGO has been the topic of several other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

Perrigo Trading Down 1.6 %

PRGO stock opened at $25.59 on Wednesday. Perrigo has a 52 week low of $23.89 and a 52 week high of $34.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of -21.87 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.56.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.38%. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.276 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is currently -94.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

In other news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total transaction of $497,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,912.43. This represents a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perrigo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Perrigo during the third quarter valued at $56,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in Perrigo by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Perrigo by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Institutional investors own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter health and wellness solutions to enhance individual well-being in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas and Consumer Self-Care International segments. The company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes self-care consumer products, such as upper respiratory products, including cough suppressants, expectorants, and sinus and allergy relief; nutrition products consisting of infant formulas and nutritional beverages; digestive health products, including antacids, anti-diarrheal, and anti-heartburn; pain and sleep-aids products comprising pain relievers and fever reducers; and oral care products, which include toothbrushes, toothbrush replacement heads, floss, flossers, whitening products, and toothbrush covers.