Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $18.50

Shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.50.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Perrigo from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Tuesday.

Perrigo Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE PRGO traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,314,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,432,304. Perrigo has a 12 month low of $9.23 and a 12 month high of $16.81. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 2.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.50.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 11.25% and a negative net margin of 41.85%. The business had revenue of $988.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $984.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. Perrigo’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 27th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.09%.

Institutional Trading of Perrigo

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRGO. Legacy Trust purchased a new position in shares of Perrigo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Perrigo by 8.7% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,637 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Perrigo by 54.1% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 31,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 10,880 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Perrigo by 1.0% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 72,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new position in Perrigo in the third quarter worth $314,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc is a global consumer self-care company that develops, manufactures and markets over-the-counter health products, wellness products and personal care items. Its portfolio includes products for allergy, pain relief, digestive health, skin care, smoking cessation, women’s health and other everyday health needs, along with vitamins, nutritional supplements and infant nutrition products.

Perrigo supplies products under its own brands, acquired brands and retailer-owned private-label labels.