Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock Price Down 4.2%

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 4.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $19.59 and last traded at $19.59. 40,504 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average session volume of 1,463,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PINC has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Benchmark cut Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com lowered Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.94.

Premier Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.08.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.25. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The firm had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Premier's payout ratio is presently 131.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total transaction of $372,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,053,978.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Premier news, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 288,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,762,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total transaction of $372,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 163,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,053,978.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 134,922 shares of company stock worth $2,717,392. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Premier during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Premier by 265.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Premier by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Premier by 141.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Premier during the second quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company's stock.

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.