Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 64,430 Shares of Perrigo Company plc $PRGO

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Perrigo Company plc by 7.5%, selling 64,430 shares to hold approximately 792,050 shares valued at $22.2 million.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on Perrigo, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $33.00, while recent reports indicate a miss in earnings with $0.57 EPS compared to expectations.
• Perrigo recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, representing a 5.1% yield, set to be paid to stockholders on September 16th.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 792,050 shares of the company's stock after selling 64,430 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.58% of Perrigo worth $22,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 11,256 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Perrigo by 0.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Perrigo in the 1st quarter worth $1,619,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Perrigo by 91.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA bought a new position in Perrigo in the 1st quarter worth $1,526,000. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Eduardo Guarita Bezerra acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.74 per share, with a total value of $68,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 48,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,113,100.26. This trade represents a 6.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Geoffrey M. Parker acquired 4,375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 $764,602.39. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on PRGO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.00.

Perrigo Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:PRGO traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $23.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 293,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,477,188. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.20 and a 200-day moving average of $26.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.21 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Company plc has a 12-month low of $21.03 and a 12-month high of $30.93.

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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio is -200.00%.

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.