Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Stake Cut by Heartland Advisors Inc.

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. decreased its holdings in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 716,650 shares of the company's stock after selling 149,507 shares during the quarter. Perrigo accounts for approximately 1.2% of Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.53% of Perrigo worth $20,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Perrigo by 2.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Perrigo by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 11,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Perrigo by 3.8% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Perrigo by 3.6% in the fourth 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Perrigo Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Perrigo stock traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, reaching $27.93. 216,265 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,402,137. 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 fifty-two week low of $23.14 and a fifty-two week high of $30.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.35 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.24.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm 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 company earned $0.29 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Perrigo's payout ratio is -88.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.