First Trust Advisors LP Sells 265,349 Shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 862,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265,349 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Perrigo were worth $22,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Perrigo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,614,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in Perrigo by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,525,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,213,000 after acquiring an additional 472,958 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth $7,989,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 65.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 541,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after acquiring an additional 213,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Perrigo during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,717,000. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Perrigo

In related news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total value of $214,032.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $923,795.04. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of PRGO opened at $25.26 on Friday. Perrigo Company plc has a fifty-two week low of $23.14 and a fifty-two week high of $33.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of -21.59 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.56.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. Perrigo’s payout ratio is presently -92.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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