Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Short Interest Update

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,150,000 shares, a growth of 25.3% from the May 31st total of 4,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insider Activity at Perrigo

In related news, EVP Svend Andersen acquired 1,000 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.90 per share, with a total value of $27,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 101,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,841,698.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Perrigo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,255,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Perrigo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,982,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in Perrigo in the first quarter worth approximately $19,040,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 3,796.5% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 582,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,736,000 after acquiring an additional 567,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Perrigo by 463.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 663,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,339,000 after acquiring an additional 545,395 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PRGO shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Perrigo from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Perrigo in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Perrigo Price Performance

NYSE PRGO traded down $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.99. 1,115,774 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,753,148. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.47. Perrigo has a 12-month low of $24.82 and a 12-month high of $40.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -373.57 and a beta of 0.51.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 4th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 0.17% and a positive return on equity of 6.96%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Perrigo will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.276 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,571.43%.

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.