Perrigo Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:PRGO)

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 5,051 call options on the company. This is an increase of 567% compared to the typical daily volume of 757 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perrigo

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 2,087,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,479,000 after acquiring an additional 107,774 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,680,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,963,000 after acquiring an additional 381,290 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,797,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,036,000 after acquiring an additional 142,363 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 281,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,257,000 after acquiring an additional 78,000 shares during the period. Finally, BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. lifted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 1,582,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,234,000 after acquiring an additional 112,595 shares during the period. 95.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Perrigo from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Perrigo from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Perrigo currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $19.33.

Perrigo Price Performance

NYSE PRGO traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $10.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,789,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,260,500. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of -1.06, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.47. Perrigo has a fifty-two week low of $9.23 and a fifty-two week high of $28.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.76.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.03). Perrigo had a negative net margin of 33.51% and a positive return on equity of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Perrigo’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Perrigo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.550 EPS. Analysts forecast that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -11.28%.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc is a global healthcare supplier specializing in over-the-counter (OTC) and self-care products, as well as generic prescription pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company develops, manufactures and distributes a broad array of consumer health products, including analgesics, vitamins and supplements, digestive health remedies, topical treatments, and infant formulas. Perrigo’s focus on private-label solutions has made it a leading partner for retailers and pharmacy chains seeking high-quality, value-oriented alternatives to branded medications and health supplements.

Organized across three principal business segments—Consumer Healthcare, Prescription Pharmaceuticals and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients—Perrigo’s operations span research and development, manufacturing, quality assurance and global distribution.