Perrigo Company plc $PRGO Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has increased its stake in Perrigo Company plc by 2.1%, acquiring an additional 146,211 shares to hold a total of 7,135,741 shares worth approximately $200 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Diamond Hill Capital Management and Principal Financial Group, have also adjusted their stakes in Perrigo, contributing to an institutional ownership of 95.91% of the stock.
• Perrigo missed earnings expectations for the latest quarter, reporting $0.57 EPS against the consensus estimate of $0.59, alongside a revenue of $1.06 billion.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,135,741 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 146,211 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.23% of Perrigo worth $200,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 1.2% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 32,658 shares of the company's stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings 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 valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.91% of the company's stock.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of PRGO stock traded up $1.0640 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.4940. 2,472,880 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,953,982. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $26.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.22. Perrigo Company plc has a 1-year low of $21.03 and a 1-year high of $30.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of -42.23 and a beta of 0.47.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Perrigo had a negative net margin of 1.86% and a positive return on equity of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Perrigo's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Perrigo's payout ratio is currently -200.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PRGO. Wall Street Zen raised Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Eduardo Guarita Bezerra acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.74 per share, for a total transaction of $68,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,113,100.26. This trade represents a 6.53% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Geoffrey M. Parker acquired 4,375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.97 per share, with a total value of $100,493.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,602.39. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 8,863 shares of company stock worth $204,575 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.