Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 73,264 Shares of Perrigo Company plc $PRGO

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has increased its holdings in Perrigo Company plc by 21.5%, now owning approximately 414,232 shares valued at $11.62 million.
• Insiders, including EVP Robert Willis and CFO Eduardo Guarita Bezerra, have made recent stock purchases, demonstrating confidence in the company's future growth.
• Perrigo has announced a $0.29 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 5.2% yield, which will be paid to investors of record on September 16.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 414,232 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 73,264 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.30% of Perrigo worth $11,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PRGO. American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in Perrigo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $386,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Perrigo by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Perrigo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $465,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Perrigo by 687.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 155,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,986,000 after acquiring an additional 135,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Perrigo by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,331,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,244,000 after acquiring an additional 188,282 shares in the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Perrigo Price Performance

NYSE:PRGO traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $21.51. 95,009 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,480,079. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.99. Perrigo Company plc has a 12 month low of $21.03 and a 12 month high of $30.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of -37.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative net margin of 1.86% and a positive return on equity of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Perrigo's 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 year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is -200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Perrigo

In related news, EVP Robert Willis acquired 1,488 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.10 per share, with a total value of $35,860.80. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 41,939 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,010,729.90. This trade represents a 3.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Geoffrey M. Parker bought 4,375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,493.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,602.39. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 10,118 shares of company stock worth $232,699 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.40% 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.