Access Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 310,730 Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 310,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,989,000. Perrigo comprises about 2.3% of Access Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Access Investment Management LLC owned about 0.23% of Perrigo at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PRGO. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Perrigo by 229.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,697,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,878,145 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 66,795.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,840,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837,538 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Perrigo in the third quarter worth $8,892,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Perrigo during the third quarter valued at $7,111,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Perrigo by 65.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 541,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after purchasing an additional 213,221 shares in the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total transaction of $497,495.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PRGO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lowered Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus downgraded Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

Perrigo stock opened at $25.37 on Friday. Perrigo Company plc has a 12-month low of $23.14 and a 12-month high of $33.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of -21.68 and a beta of 0.54.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. This is an increase from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -94.02%.

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.