Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $21.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Premier traded as high as $23.43 and last traded at $23.29, with a volume of 93201 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.67.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on PINC. Benchmark lowered Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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 research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Premier has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.44.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In other Premier news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total value of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,584,091.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Premier news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total value of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,584,091.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 278,110 shares in the company, valued at $5,562,200. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,738,548 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Premier by 384.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,311,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,828,000 after acquiring an additional 5,007,851 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,951,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,105,000 after purchasing an additional 773,207 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Premier by 60.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,051,578 shares of the company's stock worth $38,303,000 after buying an additional 772,392 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier by 6.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,926 shares of the company's stock worth $29,241,000 after buying an additional 98,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Premier by 37.7% in the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,027,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,706,000 after buying an additional 281,131 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Premier Price Performance

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $19.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. Premier had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $308.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Premier's payout ratio is 81.55%.

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.