Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Position in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 38,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,226,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRGO. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 132.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Perrigo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $119,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 33,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 9,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of PRGO opened at $30.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -300.60 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.58 and a 200-day moving average of $30.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Perrigo Company plc has a 52 week low of $25.77 and a 52 week high of $40.28.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.34% and a negative net margin of 0.27%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.276 dividend. This is a positive change from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PRGO. StockNews.com upgraded Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Perrigo from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Perrigo from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th.

Insider Transactions at Perrigo

In other news, EVP Robert Willis bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.87 per share, for a total transaction of $155,220.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $649,466.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Robert Willis purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.87 per share, with a total value of $155,220.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,466.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Lockwood-Taylor purchased 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.54 per share, for a total transaction of $252,130.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 20,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,070. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 17,990 shares of company stock worth $475,227. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.