Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Position in Perrigo Company plc $PRGO

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Perrigo Company plc by 57.7% in Q2, now holding only 10,930 shares valued at $292,000.
• The average rating for Perrigo's stock is currently a "Hold," with a consensus price target of $34.00, following various analyst updates.
• Perrigo recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, yielding approximately 5.2%, despite reporting lower-than-expected earnings and a revenue decline.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. decreased its stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 57.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,930 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,903 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Perrigo were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRGO. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Perrigo by 0.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 313,849 shares of the company's stock worth $8,800,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in shares of Perrigo in the first quarter worth approximately $1,619,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 91.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Finally, Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Perrigo in the first quarter worth approximately $1,526,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PRGO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Perrigo has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

PRGO stock opened at $22.52 on Friday. Perrigo Company plc has a one year low of $20.51 and a one year high of $30.93. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of -38.83 and a beta of 0.43.

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 the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Perrigo's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio is presently -200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

In other Perrigo news, CFO Eduardo Guarita Bezerra purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.74 per share, with a total value of $68,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,113,100.26. This trade represents a 6.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Willis purchased 1,488 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.10 per share, for a total transaction of $35,860.80. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 41,939 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,010,729.90. This represents a 3.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 10,118 shares of company stock worth $232,699 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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