Perrigo Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PRGO)

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 11,385 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 850% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,198 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Perrigo news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,912.43. The trade was a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perrigo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 9.7% in 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. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Perrigo by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Perrigo by 3.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Perrigo by 25.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Perrigo Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of PRGO stock opened at $23.57 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Perrigo has a 12 month low of $23.14 and a 12 month high of $33.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.15 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.80.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.81. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during 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 revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.276 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -94.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler downgraded Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Argus downgraded shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

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.