Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Shares Gap Down to $20.50

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $20.50, but opened at $19.96. Premier shares last traded at $20.12, with a volume of 81,574 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PINC. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Premier from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.19.

Premier Stock Down 2.3 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.88 million. Premier had a net margin of 6.01% and a return on equity of 11.71%. Premier's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Premier's dividend payout ratio is currently 131.25%.

Insider Activity at Premier

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 2,625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $52,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 580,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,601,460. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 2,625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $52,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 580,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,601,460. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,487,738.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 125,428 shares of company stock worth $2,471,783 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Premier by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Premier by 50.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Premier by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Premier by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Premier by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 77,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,711,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.