Franklin Resources Inc. Takes $3.72 Million Position in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 153,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,717,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.11% of Perrigo as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PRGO. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Perrigo by 229.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 66,795.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,840,289 shares of the company's stock worth $48,271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837,538 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Perrigo by 83.2% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,940,067 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,821,000 after acquiring an additional 881,191 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 675.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 970,637 shares of the company's stock worth $24,926,000 after purchasing an additional 845,470 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Perrigo by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,482,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,117,000 after purchasing an additional 465,161 shares during the period. 95.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total value of $497,495.46. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,912.43. The trade was a 76.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PRGO. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Perrigo Stock Performance

Shares of Perrigo stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.64. 499,124 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,594,669. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.91 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.89. Perrigo Company plc has a 12 month low of $23.89 and a 12 month high of $34.60.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.276 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Perrigo's payout ratio is -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.