Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Short Interest Update

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 18,930,000 shares, a growth of 89.9% from the February 13th total of 9,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 14.3 days. Currently, 21.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Premier

In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.88, for a total value of $437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,444,149.16. This trade represents a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $53,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $442,708.56. This trade represents a 10.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,637 shares of company stock worth $511,093. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PINC. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in Premier by 123.1% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 842,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,857,000 after acquiring an additional 464,710 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Premier by 249.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 405,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,591,000 after acquiring an additional 289,408 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Premier in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,275,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Premier by 109.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 468,524 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,933,000 after acquiring an additional 245,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Premier by 142.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 402,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,534,000 after acquiring an additional 236,787 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PINC traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,358,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,129. Premier has a fifty-two week low of $17.23 and a fifty-two week high of $23.56. The business's 50 day moving average price is $19.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.57. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -185.38 and a beta of 0.39.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. Premier's payout ratio is -840.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PINC has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.17.

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.