Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Raises Stake in Perrigo Company plc $PRGO

Key Points

• Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its holdings in Perrigo Company plc by 27.7% in Q1, owning 203,000 shares valued at approximately $5.69 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Geneos Wealth Management and First Horizon Advisors, significantly boosted their positions in Perrigo during the same quarter.
• Perrigo's stock recently opened at $22.52, with a 1-year low of $21.03 and a 1-year high of $30.93, while the company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. grew its stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 27.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 203,000 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 44,000 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. owned approximately 0.15% of Perrigo worth $5,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Perrigo by 41.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,073,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227,487 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Perrigo by 5,198.0% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,052,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,555,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013,856 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Perrigo by 126.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,159,768 shares of the company's stock worth $32,520,000 after acquiring an additional 647,982 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 2,146,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,184,000 after purchasing an additional 621,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT raised its position in Perrigo by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 3,285,167 shares of the company's stock worth $92,116,000 after purchasing an additional 616,387 shares during the period. 95.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

In related news, CFO Eduardo Guarita Bezerra bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.74 per share, for a total transaction of $68,220.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Geoffrey M. Parker acquired 4,375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.97 per share, with a total value of $100,493.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 33,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,602.39. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 10,118 shares of company stock worth $232,699 over the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Perrigo Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE PRGO traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.33. 576,817 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,482,632. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.99. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.78 and a beta of 0.48. Perrigo Company plc has a 52 week low of $21.03 and a 52 week high of $30.93.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.02). Perrigo had a negative net margin of 1.86% and a positive return on equity of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Perrigo's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Perrigo's payout ratio is -200.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRGO. Wall Street Zen raised Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.