Analysts Set Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) PT at $21.36

Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.36.

A number of analysts have recently commented on PINC shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. 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. Finally, Benchmark lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 131,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,584,091.34. This represents a 13.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total transaction of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 520,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,060,060.48. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,856 shares of company stock worth $2,941,879 over the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PINC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Premier by 4.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Premier by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 104,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,317,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the first quarter worth $418,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Premier by 8,726.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 374,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,275,000 after buying an additional 370,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the first quarter worth $27,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of Premier stock opened at $22.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.40. Premier has a 52-week low of $17.95 and a 52-week high of $23.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.79.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.85 million. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Premier will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 61.76%.

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.