Michael J. Alkire Sells 17,900 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $358,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 540,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,804,860. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Premier Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of PINC opened at $20.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.41. Premier, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.95 and a 12 month high of $23.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.76.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PINC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Benchmark lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Premier currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PINC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Premier by 139.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,121,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,017 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 220,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,937,000 after purchasing an additional 17,212 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Premier by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,213,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,805,000 after purchasing an additional 199,702 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its holdings in Premier by 17.8% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 110,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 16,705 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC increased its position in Premier by 41.1% during the first quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 52,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 15,374 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.