Royce & Associates LP Trims Stock Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,863 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Premier were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Premier by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Premier by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 20,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Premier by 157.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Premier by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Premier by 61,750.0% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ PINC opened at $18.55 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.52. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.23 and a 12-month high of $23.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -185.48 and a beta of 0.39.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.53%. Premier’s payout ratio is -840.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other Premier news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $53,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,668 shares in the company, valued at $442,708.56. This represents a 10.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PINC shares. Piper Sandler 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.17.

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.