Heartland Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its stock holdings in Perrigo Company plc by 17.3%, selling 149,507 shares and ending up with 716,650 shares, which represent about 1.2% of their total holdings.
• Perrigo reported $0.60 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.56, but showed a 3.5% drop in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 4.13%, with a notably high dividend payout ratio of -88.55%.

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 716,650 shares of the company's stock after selling 149,507 shares during the quarter. Perrigo accounts for about 1.2% of Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.53% of Perrigo worth $20,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PRGO. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Perrigo by 1,942.0% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Perrigo by 176.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Perrigo by 138.3% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Perrigo by 62.0% during the first 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Perrigo by 110.4% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Perrigo Stock Down 0.0%

PRGO opened at $28.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.46 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Perrigo Company plc has a 12 month low of $23.14 and a 12 month high of $30.93.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 8.93% and a negative net margin of 4.16%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Perrigo's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio is presently -88.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.00.

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.

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