Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,570,000 shares, a decline of 15.1% from the February 13th total of 5,380,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus lowered Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler lowered Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

Perrigo Trading Down 1.6 %

Perrigo stock opened at $27.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.16. Perrigo has a 12 month low of $23.14 and a 12 month high of $33.46. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.78 and a beta of 0.48.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. This is a boost from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Perrigo’s payout ratio is currently -92.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of Perrigo 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 in the company, valued at $923,795.04. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Perrigo by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 145,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,747,000 after purchasing an additional 14,893 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Perrigo by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth $383,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Perrigo by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 38,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 4,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group purchased a new position in shares of Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth $2,601,000. 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.