Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

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

Perrigo Stock Performance

NYSE PRGO opened at $25.95 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of -22.18 and a beta of 0.53. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $23.89 and a fifty-two week high of $34.60.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. Perrigo’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.276 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is currently -94.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total transaction of $497,495.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,912.43. This trade represents a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Perrigo

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Perrigo by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Perrigo by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Perrigo by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Perrigo Company Profile

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.