Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Invests $628,000 in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 29,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Premier by 61,750.0% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier by 137.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Premier in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Premier by 576.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,179 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Premier by 356,500.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.66. 1,168,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,163,340. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $21.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.43. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.95 and a 12-month high of $23.56.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Premier's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Premier's payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PINC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.88, for a total transaction of $437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,444,149.16. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $25,207.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,846 shares in the company, valued at $529,142.74. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,425 shares of company stock valued at $1,320,242. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.