Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.36.

PINC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" 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, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other Premier news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 23,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $529,142.74. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total value of $403,331.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,060,060.48. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,425 shares of company stock worth $1,320,242. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Premier by 61,750.0% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Premier by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Premier in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Premier during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Premier by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,041 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Premier Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:PINC traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.66. 1,168,099 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,163,310. Premier has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.92 and a 200 day moving average of $20.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.43.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The firm had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $232.85 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Premier's quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Premier will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

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

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.