Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Short Interest Update

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,790,000 shares, a decrease of 17.1% from the February 28th total of 4,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,620,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Perrigo

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 stock was sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total transaction of $214,032.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $923,795.04. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perrigo

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Perrigo by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 145,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,747,000 after acquiring an additional 14,893 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in 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 bought a new stake in Perrigo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $383,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 38,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 4,105 shares during the period. Finally, Novem Group bought a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth $2,601,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Perrigo Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:PRGO traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $27.13. 831,869 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,495,673. Perrigo has a 1 year low of $23.14 and a 1 year high of $33.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.19 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.38%. Analysts predict that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is presently -92.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRGO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler downgraded Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus cut Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.