Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $23.70 and last traded at $23.71, with a volume of 113198 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRGO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.38 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.77.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Perrigo’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.276 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is currently -94.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were 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 owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,912.43. This represents a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Perrigo by 3.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,162,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,935,000 after purchasing an additional 249,640 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 11.2% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,882,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,701,000 after buying an additional 391,646 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 229.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,697,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,761,000 after buying an additional 1,878,145 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 23.1% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,482,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,117,000 after buying an additional 465,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT increased its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 5.2% during the second quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,391,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,402,000 after buying an additional 117,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

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.