Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 120,322 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,739,473 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,322 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Premier were worth $34,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Premier by 384.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,311,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,828,000 after purchasing an additional 5,007,851 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Premier by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,951,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,105,000 after buying an additional 773,207 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Premier by 60.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,051,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,303,000 after buying an additional 772,392 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Premier during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,138,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Premier by 145.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 381,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,128,000 after acquiring an additional 226,290 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PINC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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 lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays upped their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.36.

Premier Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Premier stock opened at $21.51 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.42. Premier, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.95 and a 12 month high of $23.56.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 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 business had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Premier’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.88, for a total transaction of $437,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,444,149.16. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $25,292.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 558,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,168,441.43. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 114,825 shares of company stock worth $2,418,042. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.