Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 13,004 Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. invested approximately $365,000 in Perrigo Company plc by acquiring 13,004 shares in the first quarter of this year.
• Recent analyst reports show a mixed outlook for Perrigo, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowering their price target to $35.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating, and Canaccord Genuity Group reducing their target to $40.00 with a "buy" rating.
• Perrigo declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 5.1%, with payment scheduled for September 16th to shareholders recorded by August 29th.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Perrigo during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 176.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 138.3% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,754 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,218 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Perrigo by 110.4% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the period. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Perrigo Stock Down 0.9%

Perrigo stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,362,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,588. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $26.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Perrigo Company plc has a 52-week low of $21.03 and a 52-week high of $30.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.00 and a beta of 0.47.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.02). Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 9.09% and a negative net margin of 1.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -200.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Perrigo 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.