Invenomic Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Invenomic Capital Management LP cut its stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 746,306 shares of the company’s stock after selling 351,183 shares during the quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP owned about 0.63% of Premier worth $16,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Premier by 153.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Premier by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Premier by 141.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Premier by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Premier by 246.5% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PINC. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Premier in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Premier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 6,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.85, for a total transaction of $131,585.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,929.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 6,629 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.85, for a total value of $131,585.65. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,929.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.41, for a total value of $388,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 183,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,042.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,736 shares of company stock worth $1,080,612. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Premier Trading Down 0.8 %

Premier stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $18.63. The company had a trading volume of 853,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,543,251. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.29 and a 12-month high of $28.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.44.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.07. Premier had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 6.01%. Equities analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.25%.

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.