Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) by 30.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 137,826 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Perrigo were worth $8,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Perrigo by 14.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Perrigo by 8.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 22,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Perrigo during the first quarter worth $19,040,000. Brant Point Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Perrigo in the 1st quarter worth about $336,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in shares of Perrigo by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 793,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,531,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

In related news, Director Katherine C. Doyle sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total transaction of $244,444.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,045.70. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 13,000 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.40, for a total value of $382,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,258.20. This represents a 38.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PRGO. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Perrigo presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Perrigo Stock Performance

PRGO opened at $27.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.97 and a 200-day moving average of $27.17. Perrigo Company plc has a 52-week low of $23.89 and a 52-week high of $34.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.56. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of -23.28 and a beta of 0.48.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.81. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.276 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Perrigo’s payout ratio is presently -94.02%.

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.