Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Stock Holdings in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 275,164 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,345 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.20% of Perrigo worth $7,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in Perrigo by 1,942.0% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Perrigo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Perrigo by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Perrigo by 97.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,215 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Perrigo Price Performance

NYSE:PRGO traded up $0.18 on Thursday, reaching $24.92. 219,126 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,519,235. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of -21.30 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.04. Perrigo Company plc has a 12 month low of $23.14 and a 12 month high of $33.46.

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

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. This is a boost from Perrigo's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Perrigo's payout ratio is -92.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PRGO shares. Argus lowered Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Perrigo from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total transaction of $214,032.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $923,795.04. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.