AQR Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Perrigo Company plc $PRGO

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Perrigo Company plc by 9.3%, now holding approximately $4.99 million worth of shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Dimensional Fund Advisors, significantly increased their positions in Perrigo during the same quarter, indicating a strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Perrigo recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.57, missing analysts' consensus estimate, contributing to a quarterly revenue decline of 0.9% compared to the previous year.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,722 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,404 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Perrigo worth $4,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Perrigo by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 32,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Perrigo by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,984 shares of the company's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Perrigo by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 5,292 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Perrigo by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,707 shares of the company's stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Perrigo by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,337 shares of the company's stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Perrigo

In other news, CFO Eduardo Guarita Bezerra bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.74 per share, with a total value of $68,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,100.26. The trade was a 6.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abigail Lennox bought 1,255 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.41 per share, for a total transaction of $28,124.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,255 shares in the company, valued at $28,124.55. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 10,118 shares of company stock valued at $232,699 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Perrigo Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of PRGO stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $21.38. 1,769,368 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,461,603. The stock's 50 day moving average is $24.55 and its 200-day moving average is $25.91. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.85 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Perrigo Company plc has a fifty-two week low of $20.95 and a fifty-two week high of $30.93.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 9.09% and a negative net margin of 1.86%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio is presently -200.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on PRGO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

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.