Perrigo Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PRGO)

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 11,385 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 850% compared to the average daily volume of 1,198 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Argus lowered Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Insider Activity at Perrigo

In other news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total transaction of $497,495.46. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,912.43. The trade was a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Perrigo

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Perrigo by 93.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Perrigo by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Perrigo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Perrigo by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Perrigo Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of PRGO traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $23.88. 487,726 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,432,092. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.42 and a beta of 0.53. Perrigo has a twelve month low of $23.14 and a twelve month high of $33.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.77. 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 (NYSE:PRGO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.81. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.276 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is currently -94.02%.

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.