Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Raises Stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,710 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,255 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned approximately 0.21% of Perrigo worth $7,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Perrigo in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Perrigo by 93.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Perrigo by 97.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Perrigo during the 4th quarter valued at $149,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Perrigo news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total transaction of $214,032.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,666 shares in the company, valued at $923,795.04. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Perrigo Stock Performance

NYSE:PRGO opened at $27.73 on Tuesday. Perrigo Company plc has a fifty-two week low of $23.14 and a fifty-two week high of $33.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.14. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.70 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

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

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Perrigo’s payout ratio is currently -92.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.