Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Trading Down 4.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) shares dropped 4.2% on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $21.00 to $19.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Premier traded as low as $19.59 and last traded at $19.59. Approximately 40,504 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 1,463,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.44.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. StockNews.com lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Benchmark cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total value of $372,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 163,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,053,978.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total transaction of $396,443.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 543,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,487,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total value of $372,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,053,978.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,312 shares of company stock worth $3,154,400. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PINC. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Premier by 86.3% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 349,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 161,720 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Premier by 29.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 11,645 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Premier in the second quarter worth about $225,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Premier in the 2nd quarter valued at about $468,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 98,544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.06.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.88 million. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 131.25%.

About Premier

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.