Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Trading Up 8.2% – Still a Buy?

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)’s stock price traded up 8.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.81 and last traded at $21.65. 141,550 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,350,296 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Premier has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.44.

Premier Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.88 million. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. Premier’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of Premier 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,584,091.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total value of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,584,091.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.83, for a total value of $403,310.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 578,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,042,718.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,441 shares of company stock worth $2,738,548. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Premier

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Premier by 262.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 13,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 9,498 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Premier by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 428,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,562,000 after acquiring an additional 92,766 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Premier by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Premier by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Premier by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171 shares during the period. 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.