Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PINC. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Benchmark cut shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.81.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of PINC stock opened at $22.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.66. Premier has a 1-year low of $17.95 and a 1-year high of $23.01.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.88 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. Premier’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Premier 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 paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.55%.

Insider Activity at Premier

In other Premier news, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $358,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 540,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,804,860. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,441 shares of company stock worth $2,738,548 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Premier

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PINC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Premier in the first quarter valued at $1,686,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Premier by 1,496.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 94,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 88,800 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Premier by 8,726.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 374,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,275,000 after purchasing an additional 370,192 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Premier in the 1st quarter worth about $418,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Premier by 10.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 215,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after buying an additional 20,419 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently 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.