Craig S. Mckasson Sells 10,000 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.41, for a total value of $204,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 263,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,096.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of Premier stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 280,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,138. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.04. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $23.01.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.88 million. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 131.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PINC. StockNews.com cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Premier in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Premier by 265.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Premier by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 141.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Premier in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Premier

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.