Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Holdings in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 269,503 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,967 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.20% of Perrigo worth $6,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Perrigo during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,717,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Perrigo by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,160,000 after purchasing an additional 37,268 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Perrigo by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 541,000 shares of the company's stock worth $14,190,000 after purchasing an additional 213,221 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Perrigo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $909,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Perrigo during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,989,000. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

In other Perrigo news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total transaction of $214,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,666 shares in the company, valued at $923,795.04. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of Perrigo stock traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $25.04. 783,216 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,524,127. 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 company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.40 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $26.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.06.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Analysts expect that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. This is a positive change from Perrigo's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio is currently -92.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut shares of Perrigo from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Argus cut shares of Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Perrigo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

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.