Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 904,531 Shares of Perrigo Company plc $PRGO

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Perrigo Company plc by 6.1%, now holding approximately 10.24% of the company, which is valued at around $391.68 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded Perrigo's rating recently, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $33.00.
• Perrigo announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 5.1%, despite a current payout ratio of -200.00%.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,968,429 shares of the company's stock after selling 904,531 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.24% of Perrigo worth $391,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $53,128,000 after acquiring an additional 11,256 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Perrigo by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 313,849 shares of the company's stock worth $8,800,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Perrigo during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,619,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Perrigo by 91.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA purchased a new stake in Perrigo in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,526,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Geoffrey M. Parker acquired 4,375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased 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 represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Eduardo Guarita Bezerra purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.74 per share, for a total transaction of $68,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,113,100.26. The trade was a 6.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Perrigo Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:PRGO traded up $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.46. 883,453 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,481,014. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.53 and a beta of 0.47. Perrigo Company plc has a 1-year low of $21.03 and a 1-year high of $30.93. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 1.86% and a positive return on equity of 9.09%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.29 dividend. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRGO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. 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 research report on Thursday, August 7th. 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 research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

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.