Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 27,835 Shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,989,530 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,835 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.12% of Perrigo worth $179,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PRGO. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Perrigo by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,617 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Perrigo by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted 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 valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 64,086 shares of the company's stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.91% of the company's stock.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of Perrigo stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.53. 185,239 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,520,122. Perrigo Company plc has a 12 month low of $23.14 and a 12 month high of $33.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.79 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.08.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Perrigo's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.54%. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -92.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PRGO. Argus cut shares of Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Perrigo from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Perrigo news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total value of $214,032.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $923,795.04. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.70% 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.