Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,883 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,599 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Perrigo were worth $640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in Perrigo during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Perrigo by 93.7% in the 4th 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 period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Perrigo by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Perrigo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Perrigo

In other news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $923,795.04. This trade represents a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Perrigo Stock Performance

Shares of PRGO opened at $27.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.29 and a beta of 0.48. Perrigo Company plc has a 52-week low of $23.14 and a 52-week high of $33.46. 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 moving average price of $25.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.14.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.38%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Research analysts predict that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. This is a boost from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Perrigo’s payout ratio is -92.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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