M&T Bank Corp Buys New Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Premier by 2.4% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 20,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Premier by 2.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Premier by 37.0% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 137.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 7.1% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 11,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC opened at $21.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.42. Premier, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.95 and a fifty-two week high of $23.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.21.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $248.14 million during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PINC. Benchmark downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Premier presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.36.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,584,091.34. The trade was a 13.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total value of $400,553.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,951,317.20. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 94,825 shares of company stock worth $1,980,442. 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.