Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 112,929 Shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 347.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,474 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 112,929 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.11% of Perrigo worth $3,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in Perrigo by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 5,100 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Perrigo by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Perrigo by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Perrigo by 25.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,517 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,083 shares of the company's stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Katherine C. Doyle sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $244,444.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,009 shares in the company, valued at $164,045.70. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on PRGO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Perrigo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Perrigo Trading Down 1.7 %

PRGO traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $28.43. 1,348,975 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,613,405. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.71 and a beta of 0.52. Perrigo Company plc has a 52 week low of $23.89 and a 52 week high of $34.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

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

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.276 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Perrigo's payout ratio is -94.02%.

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.