Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

PRGO has been the subject of several other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Perrigo has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Perrigo Trading Down 1.9%

PRGO opened at $20.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of -35.96 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Perrigo has a 12-month low of $20.51 and a 12-month high of $30.93.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 1.86% and a positive return on equity of 9.09%. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is presently -200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

In other Perrigo news, EVP Abigail Lennox purchased 1,255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.41 per share, with a total value of $28,124.55. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,124.55. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Willis purchased 1,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.10 per share, with a total value of $35,860.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 41,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,010,729.90. The trade was a 3.68% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 10,118 shares of company stock valued at $232,699 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perrigo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRGO. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Perrigo by 439.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Perrigo by 237.8% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Perrigo by 54.6% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Perrigo by 101.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Perrigo during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.