Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 84.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,527 shares of the company's stock after selling 481,264 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.08% of Premier worth $1,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on PINC shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Benchmark lowered Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.81.

Premier Stock Up 0.5 %

PINC stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $19.19. The stock had a trading volume of 578,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,431,302. The company has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.40. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $23.01. The company's 50 day moving average is $20.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.93.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.88 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. Premier's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 131.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $25,292.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 558,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,168,441.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,584,091.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total value of $25,292.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 558,143 shares in the company, valued at $11,168,441.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 186,312 shares of company stock valued at $3,779,250. Company insiders own 0.85% 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.