Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire Sells 17,900 Shares

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $358,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 540,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,804,860. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Premier Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of PINC traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.26. 602,164 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,389,528. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.41. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.01.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. Premier had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Premier's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.55%.

Institutional Trading of Premier

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PINC. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in Premier during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Premier by 137.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Premier by 265.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Premier in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PINC shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.81.

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.