Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire Sells 1,264 Shares of Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total value of $25,292.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 558,143 shares in the company, valued at $11,168,441.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Premier Trading Down 3.4 %

Premier stock opened at $19.32 on Wednesday. Premier, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.95 and a 12 month high of $23.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.94.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The company 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%. Premier’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 131.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PINC. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Premier by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 349,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 161,720 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Premier by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 11,645 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Premier in the 2nd quarter worth about $225,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Premier in the 2nd quarter worth about $468,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Premier by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,241,000 after acquiring an additional 98,544 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.