Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.0714.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PINC shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Premier in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Premier from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Premier from $25.00 to $28.25 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th.

Premier Price Performance

NASDAQ PINC opened at $28.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 128.14 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.04. Premier has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $28.79.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of ($713.06) million for the quarter. Premier had a return on equity of 7.04% and a net margin of 2.00%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Premier will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 381.82%.

Insider Activity at Premier

In related news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $29,323.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,153.44. This trade represents a 3.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 6,521 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $168,176.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 99,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,738.13. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,326 shares of company stock valued at $317,230. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Premier by 17.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,259,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,402,000 after buying an additional 638,498 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Premier by 7.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,100,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,993,000 after purchasing an additional 208,764 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 33.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,285,000 after purchasing an additional 561,262 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Premier by 4.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,897,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,582,000 after purchasing an additional 84,016 shares during the period. Finally, 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new position in Premier in the second quarter valued at $37,151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.