Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.36.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PINC. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other Premier news, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total value of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 104,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,141,449.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.83, for a total transaction of $403,310.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 578,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,042,718.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 125,441 shares of company stock worth $2,538,548 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Premier

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Premier during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Premier by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised 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 worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake 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. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Premier in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC opened at $23.13 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.77. Premier has a 52 week low of $17.95 and a 52 week high of $23.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Premier will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

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.