Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock Position Raised by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 145.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,799 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 226,290 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.36% of Premier worth $7,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 50.0% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 77,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 141.2% during 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 period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Premier during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PINC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Premier currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total value of $396,443.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 543,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,487,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total transaction of $396,443.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 543,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,487,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total transaction of $26,327.24. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 102,467 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,241.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,312 shares of company stock valued at $2,985,900 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of PINC opened at $19.99 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.15 and a 200-day moving average of $19.96. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $23.01. The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.25%.

Premier Company 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.