American Assets Inc. Buys New Stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,000. Perrigo comprises 0.1% of American Assets Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 229.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,697,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878,145 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 66,795.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,840,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837,538 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,525,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,213,000 after purchasing an additional 472,958 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Perrigo in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,892,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Perrigo in the 4th quarter valued at $7,989,000. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Perrigo Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Perrigo stock opened at $27.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.77 and a beta of 0.48. 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 50-day simple moving average of $25.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.24. Perrigo Company plc has a 12-month low of $23.14 and a 12-month high of $33.46.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.38%. Research analysts expect that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -92.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PRGO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perrigo

In other Perrigo news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 5,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,912.43. This trade represents a 76.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Perrigo 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.