Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Trading Up 5.6% - Time to Buy?

Shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) shot up 5.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $30.82 and last traded at $30.63. 1,220,488 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 1,522,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PRGO. Piper Sandler downgraded Perrigo from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Argus downgraded Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Perrigo has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Perrigo Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.77 and a beta of 0.48.

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Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Perrigo's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Perrigo's payout ratio is currently -92.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total value of $497,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $152,912.43. The trade was a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRGO. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 1,942.0% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 93.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the third quarter valued at $56,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.