Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Receives $21.36 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.36.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $358,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 540,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,804,860. The trade was a 3.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $53,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,708.56. This represents a 10.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,325 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,242 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Premier by 137.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Premier during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 576.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Premier during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Premier by 37.0% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Premier Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Premier stock opened at $21.09 on Friday. Premier has a 1 year low of $17.95 and a 1 year high of $23.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.50. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.43.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.85 million. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Premier will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.76%.

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.