Ion Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 13,894 Shares of Perrigo Company plc $PRGO

Key Points

• Ion Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Perrigo Company plc by 0.5%, owning 2.83 million shares, making it the fund's fourth largest position.
• Perrigo recently reported a quarterly earnings miss, with $0.57 EPS compared to the expected $0.59, and revenue of $1.06 billion, falling short of estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29, representing an annualized yield of 5.0%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

Ion Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,833,894 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,894 shares during the period. Perrigo comprises 5.2% of Ion Asset Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Ion Asset Management Ltd. owned about 2.06% of Perrigo worth $79,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Perrigo in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Perrigo by 176.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Perrigo by 138.3% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Perrigo by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Perrigo by 110.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.91% of the company's stock.

Perrigo Stock Performance

NYSE PRGO traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 418,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,484,913. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.19 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 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 business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PRGO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.00.

Insider Activity at Perrigo

In other Perrigo news, Director Geoffrey M. Parker purchased 4,375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.97 per share, with a total value of $100,493.75. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,602.39. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Willis bought 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.10 per share, with a total value of $35,860.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 41,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,010,729.90. This trade represents a 3.68% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 8,863 shares of company stock valued at $204,575 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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.