Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its stake in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 60.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,075 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,402 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.06% of Premier worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 384.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,311,089 shares of the company's stock worth $117,828,000 after purchasing an additional 5,007,851 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 14.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,951,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,105,000 after buying an additional 773,207 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Premier by 60.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,051,578 shares of the company's stock worth $38,303,000 after acquiring an additional 772,392 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Premier in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,138,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Premier by 145.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 381,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,128,000 after acquiring an additional 226,290 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $22.83. 983,020 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,320,238. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $20.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.97. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.56. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Premier's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,060,060.48. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 131,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,584,091.34. The trade was a 13.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 141,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,915,552. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PINC shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark cut Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Premier presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.36.

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.