Rhumbline Advisers Sells 41,328 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 294,817 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,328 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.28% of Premier worth $5,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in Premier in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Premier by 265.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Premier by 50.0% during the 1st 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 during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Premier by 141.2% during 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, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Premier during the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total value of $372,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,053,978.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total value of $372,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,053,978.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.41, for a total value of $346,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,784,038.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,312 shares of company stock valued at $3,154,400 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Premier Trading Up 2.7 %

PINC traded up $0.53 on Friday, reaching $20.29. The stock had a trading volume of 716,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,455,507. Premier, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.95 and a fifty-two week high of $23.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.93 and a 200-day moving average of $20.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $308.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. Premier's payout ratio is presently 131.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PINC. Benchmark downgraded Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Premier presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.94.

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.