Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Argus

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) was downgraded by Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PRGO. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler downgraded Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of Perrigo stock opened at $24.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of -20.79 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.71 and a 200 day moving average of $26.80. Perrigo has a 52 week low of $23.89 and a 52 week high of $33.96.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $152,912.43. This trade represents a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perrigo

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRGO. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Perrigo by 13.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Perrigo by 3.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,162,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,935,000 after buying an additional 249,640 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Perrigo by 4.2% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 301,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after buying an additional 12,254 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Perrigo by 3.3% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 85,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Perrigo during the 2nd quarter worth $459,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.