Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Trading Up 5.6% – Time to Buy?

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)’s stock price traded up 5.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $30.82 and last traded at $30.63. 1,220,488 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 1,522,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus downgraded Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Perrigo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.75 and a beta of 0.54.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.38%. As a group, analysts predict that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. This is a boost from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Perrigo’s payout ratio is -92.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Perrigo by 1,942.0% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Perrigo by 93.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Perrigo by 33.3% in the fourth 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. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Perrigo during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Hedge funds and other 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.