Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire Sells 17,415 Shares of Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total value of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,060,060.48. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Premier Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ PINC traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.72. The stock had a trading volume of 27,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,404. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.79. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.43.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. Premier’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s payout ratio is presently 61.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PINC shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 50.0% in 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 period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 265.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.