Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.36.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PINC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Benchmark lowered shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th.

Premier Price Performance

Premier stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $21.83. The stock had a trading volume of 697,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,305,383. Premier has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $23.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.08.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Premier will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total value of $25,292.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 558,143 shares in the company, valued at $11,168,441.43. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.41, for a total value of $204,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 263,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,096.59. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 86,451 shares of company stock valued at $1,783,989. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Premier

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 137.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Premier during the third quarter worth about $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 valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Premier in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Premier by 37.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.