Inspire Investing LLC Raises Stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,576 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Premier were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Premier in the first quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Premier by 137.6% during 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 during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Premier by 265.2% during 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 during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Premier in the second quarter worth about $47,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,584,091.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Premier news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,584,091.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 558,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,168,441.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 153,687 shares of company stock valued at $3,126,750. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Up 1.2 %

PINC opened at $19.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.41. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.77.

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

Premier Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.81.

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.