Perrigo Company plc $PRGO Shares Purchased 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 increased its stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,135,741 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 146,211 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.23% of Perrigo worth $200,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 0.6% in the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,894,739 shares of the company's stock worth $53,128,000 after acquiring an additional 11,256 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Perrigo by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 313,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,800,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in Perrigo in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,619,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Perrigo by 91.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Finally, Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA purchased a new position in Perrigo in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,526,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Perrigo Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of PRGO traded up $1.0640 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.4940. 2,472,880 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,037,068. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.23 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.24. Perrigo Company plc has a 12-month low of $21.03 and a 12-month high of $30.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRGO has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Geoffrey M. Parker purchased 4,375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,493.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 33,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,602.39. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Eduardo Guarita Bezerra purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.74 per share, with a total value of $68,220.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 48,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,113,100.26. The trade was a 6.53% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 8,863 shares of company stock worth $204,575. Insiders own 0.40% 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.