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

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction dated 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 $923,795.04. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Perrigo by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 145,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,747,000 after purchasing an additional 14,893 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 1,968 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Perrigo during the 4th quarter worth $383,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Perrigo by 12.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Novem Group bought a new position in Perrigo in the 4th quarter worth $2,601,000. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Perrigo Stock Up 0.8 %

Perrigo stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 840,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,498,132. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.34 and its 200 day moving average is $26.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of -23.85 and a beta of 0.48. Perrigo has a 52-week low of $23.14 and a 52-week high of $33.46.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. Perrigo’s payout ratio is -92.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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