Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Short Interest Update

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,860,000 shares, an increase of 22.1% from the March 31st total of 3,980,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Perrigo Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE PRGO traded up $0.38 on Friday, hitting $25.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 888,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,520,769. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of -21.92 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day moving average is $26.56 and its 200 day moving average is $26.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Perrigo has a 1-year low of $23.14 and a 1-year high of $33.46.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. As a group, analysts predict that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -92.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total value of $214,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $923,795.04. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Perrigo by 1,942.0% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Perrigo in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 176.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 93.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, 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 during the period. 95.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on PRGO. StockNews.com cut Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Perrigo from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.00.

About Perrigo

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.

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