Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.81.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Benchmark cut shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Premier Stock Performance

PINC stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.26. 602,165 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,389,528. Premier has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $23.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.75.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The company had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Premier will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. Premier's dividend payout ratio is presently 131.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 543,927 shares in the company, valued at $11,487,738.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,375 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.13, for a total transaction of $349,758.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 562,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,327,110.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 543,927 shares in the company, valued at $11,487,738.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 171,587 shares of company stock valued at $3,484,750. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Premier by 196.7% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 8,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 58,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 7,038 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 165.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 83,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 51,955 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 6.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 20,576 shares of the company's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Premier by 10.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 45,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 4,185 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.