Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $20.00. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Premier traded as high as $23.43 and last traded at $23.29, with a volume of 93201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.67.

PINC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $90,038.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,449.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $25,292.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 558,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,168,441.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 104,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,141,449.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,738,548 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PINC. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Premier by 137.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Premier by 50.0% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Premier by 265.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Premier during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.67.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.55%.

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.