Rhumbline Advisers Reduces Stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its stake in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 294,817 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,328 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Premier were worth $5,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Premier by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,213,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,805,000 after purchasing an additional 199,702 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Premier during the fourth quarter worth $51,271,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Premier by 139.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,121,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,017 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Premier by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,615,000 after acquiring an additional 129,813 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Premier by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,287,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,793,000 after acquiring an additional 65,220 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 2,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $52,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 580,073 shares in the company, valued at $11,601,460. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 2,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $52,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 580,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,601,460. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total value of $372,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,053,978.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 156,312 shares of company stock worth $3,154,400. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PINC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.94.

Premier Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC opened at $20.29 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.93 and its 200 day moving average is $20.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.40. Premier, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.95 and a 52-week high of $23.01.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.88 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.25%.

Premier Profile

Premier, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a healthcare improvement company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Supply Chain Services and Performance Services. The Supply Chain Services segment offers its members with an access to a range of products and services, including medical and surgical products, pharmaceuticals, laboratory supplies, capital equipment, information technology, facilities and construction, and food and nutritional products, as well as purchased services, such as clinical engineering and workforce solutions.