Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Perrigo from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Sunday, March 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Perrigo in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. They set a buy rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Perrigo Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE:PRGO opened at $34.77 on Thursday. Perrigo has a 1 year low of $30.78 and a 1 year high of $43.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.22 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.15.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.05. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 5.79% and a negative net margin of 2.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Perrigo will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.273 per share. This is a boost from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is currently -113.54%.

Insider Transactions at Perrigo

In other news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total transaction of $166,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,451.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Thomas Farrington sold 3,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total transaction of $132,427.11. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,823 shares in the company, valued at $100,414.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total value of $166,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,451.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,223 shares of company stock valued at $619,867 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRGO. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Perrigo by 23.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 53,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after buying an additional 10,189 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Perrigo by 222.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,547 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in Perrigo by 135.4% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 24,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 14,222 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Perrigo by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 49,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 4,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,112,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,469,000 after acquiring an additional 554,915 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.09% of the company’s stock.

About Perrigo

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Perrigo Co Plc engages in the provision of self-care products and over-the-counter (OTC) health and wellness solutions. It enhances individual well-being by empowering consumers to proactively prevent or treat conditions that can be self-managed. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Self-Care Americas (CSCA) and Consumer Self-Care International (CSCI).