Bridgewater Associates LP Has $558,000 Stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Free Report) by 45.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,268 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,903 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Perrigo were worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Katherine C. Doyle sold 8,954 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total transaction of $244,444.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $164,045.70. This trade represents a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Perrigo Trading Down 0.2 %

PRGO stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,302,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,651. The company's fifty day moving average price is $26.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Perrigo Company plc has a twelve month low of $23.89 and a twelve month high of $34.60.

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

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.276 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -94.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.