Brandes Investment Partners LP Increases Stock Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 349,098 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 161,720 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.33% of Premier worth $6,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PINC. Creative Planning raised its position in Premier by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 11,645 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Premier during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Premier during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $468,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Premier by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,241,000 after purchasing an additional 98,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier by 37.0% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,672 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of PINC traded down $0.68 on Tuesday, reaching $19.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,288,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,442,618. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.16 and a 200 day moving average of $19.96.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $308.88 million. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The firm's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Premier's dividend payout ratio is currently 131.25%.

Insider Activity at Premier

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the firm'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 value of $396,443.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 543,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,487,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $26,327.24. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 102,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,045,241.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of Premier 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 543,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,487,738.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 166,312 shares of company stock worth $3,386,850. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PINC. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Premier has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.94.

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.