JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Position in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 49.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 275,151 shares of the company's stock after selling 265,849 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.20% of Perrigo worth $7,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Perrigo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,717,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,160,000 after buying an additional 37,268 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Perrigo in the third quarter valued at $909,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Perrigo during the fourth quarter worth $7,989,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Perrigo by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,048,005 shares of the company's stock worth $26,944,000 after acquiring an additional 13,835 shares in the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Perrigo Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PRGO traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.35. The stock had a trading volume of 848,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,526,585. Perrigo Company plc has a 52 week low of $23.14 and a 52 week high of $33.46. The firm's fifty day moving average is $26.49 and its 200 day moving average is $26.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.66 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.38%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given 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 4.58%. This is a boost from Perrigo's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Perrigo's payout ratio is currently -92.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PRGO. Argus downgraded Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Perrigo from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Perrigo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.