Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Perrigo Trading Down 1.0%

Perrigo stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.06. The stock had a trading volume of 249,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,512,741. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of -23.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.19. Perrigo has a 52 week low of $23.14 and a 52 week high of $30.93.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio is currently -88.55%.

Insider Transactions at Perrigo

In other Perrigo news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,666 shares in the company, valued at $923,795.04. The trade was a 18.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Perrigo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in Perrigo by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,160,000 after acquiring an additional 37,268 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Perrigo in the 4th quarter worth about $7,989,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Perrigo by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,048,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,944,000 after buying an additional 13,835 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Perrigo in the 4th quarter worth about $3,177,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $691,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.91% of the company's stock.

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.