Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $24.13, but opened at $27.65. Perrigo shares last traded at $28.44, with a volume of 921,628 shares traded.

The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for 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%.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from Perrigo's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Perrigo's payout ratio is presently -92.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRGO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler downgraded Perrigo from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus cut Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Perrigo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

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Insider Activity at Perrigo

In other Perrigo news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total transaction of $497,495.46. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $152,912.43. The trade was a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRGO. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Perrigo during the third quarter worth $3,717,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Perrigo during the 3rd quarter worth about $7,111,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Perrigo by 65.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 541,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,190,000 after buying an additional 213,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Perrigo by 94.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 151,520 shares of the company's stock worth $3,974,000 after buying an additional 73,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.91% of the company's stock.

Perrigo Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.10 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The business's 50 day moving average price is $25.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.20.

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.