Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 27.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 428,076 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 92,766 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.43% of Premier worth $8,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PINC. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Premier in the 1st quarter valued at about $418,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in Premier in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Premier during the 1st quarter worth approximately $670,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Premier by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 131,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis lifted its position in shares of Premier by 162.3% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 452,000 shares of the company's stock worth $9,989,000 after purchasing an additional 279,700 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Premier Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:PINC traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.48. 684,253 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,348,360. Premier, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.95 and a 1-year high of $23.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.36 and a 200 day moving average of $19.79.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The business's revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PINC shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Premier currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.36.

Insider Activity at Premier

In related news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $26,327.24. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 102,467 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,241.32. The trade was a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total value of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 104,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,141,449.10. The trade was a 4.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 142,856 shares of company stock worth $2,941,879 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Premier 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.