Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.50 and last traded at $23.44, with a volume of 46405 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on PINC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

Premier Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.71 and its 200-day moving average is $19.90.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.83, for a total transaction of $403,310.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 578,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,042,718.69. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total value of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,449.10. The trade was a 4.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 141,537 shares of company stock worth $2,915,552. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Premier

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 2.0% in 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. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Premier by 0.9% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 77,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.