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

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,020,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the November 15th total of 4,970,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total value of $497,495.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,409 shares in the company, valued at $152,912.43. The trade was a 76.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 877.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 7,358 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 31.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Perrigo by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 86,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,218,000 after buying an additional 4,849 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Perrigo in the second quarter worth about $304,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,085,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,880,000 after acquiring an additional 9,219 shares in the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of PRGO stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.45. The stock had a trading volume of 966,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,601,242. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.46 and a beta of 0.52. Perrigo has a one year low of $23.89 and a one year high of $34.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.276 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. Perrigo’s payout ratio is currently -94.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRGO. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Perrigo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

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.