First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Takes Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Premier in the 1st quarter worth about $1,686,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Premier by 1,496.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 94,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 88,800 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Premier by 8,726.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 374,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,275,000 after acquiring an additional 370,192 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Premier in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 215,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,742,000 after purchasing an additional 20,419 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $358,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 540,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,804,860. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 278,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,562,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $358,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 540,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,804,860. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 135,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,738,548. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Premier Trading Down 1.3 %

PINC opened at $20.01 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.67. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.40. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.95 and a 12-month high of $23.01.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.25. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The business had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PINC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.81.

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.