Brandes Investment Partners LP Acquires 161,720 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 349,098 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,720 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Premier were worth $6,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Premier by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 2,352 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 290,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,487,000 after acquiring an additional 26,666 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Premier by 711.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 163,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,645,000 after acquiring an additional 142,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PINC opened at $20.00 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.96. Premier, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.95 and a 52-week high of $23.01. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Premier has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 102,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,045,241.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Premier news, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total value of $90,038.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,449.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $26,327.24. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 165,048 shares of company stock valued at $3,361,557. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.