Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 862,852 shares of the company's stock after selling 265,349 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.63% of Perrigo worth $22,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Perrigo in the third quarter worth $3,717,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Perrigo by 44.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,502 shares of the company's stock worth $3,160,000 after buying an additional 37,268 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Perrigo by 65.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 541,000 shares of the company's stock worth $14,190,000 after buying an additional 213,221 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Perrigo in the third quarter worth $909,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth $7,989,000. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Perrigo Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Perrigo stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.62. 1,057,161 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,523,492. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.90 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Perrigo Company plc has a 52-week low of $23.14 and a 52-week high of $33.46. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $26.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.08.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Perrigo's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Perrigo's payout ratio is -92.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PRGO. StockNews.com downgraded Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus lowered Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

In other Perrigo news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total value of $214,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $923,795.04. This trade represents a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Perrigo 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.