Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.20.

PINC has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of PINC opened at $22.93 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.74. Premier has a fifty-two week low of $17.23 and a fifty-two week high of $23.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of -229.28 and a beta of 0.57.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Premier’s payout ratio is 147.37%.

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, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $26,185.11. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,339.19. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total transaction of $45,760.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,123.84. The trade was a 9.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,119 shares of company stock valued at $516,976 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PINC. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Premier by 157.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 297.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.