Michael J. Alkire Sells 18,374 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,374 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 502,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,951,317.20. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Premier Stock Up 0.4 %

PINC opened at $21.79 on Friday. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.77%.

Institutional Trading of Premier

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PINC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Premier by 137.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Premier by 576.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Premier in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Premier by 37.0% during the 2nd 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 period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PINC has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Premier currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.36.

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.