QRG Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,705 shares of the company’s stock after selling 952 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Premier were worth $375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Premier by 109.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 468,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,933,000 after acquiring an additional 245,239 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Premier by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,741,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,836,000 after acquiring an additional 97,458 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Premier by 27.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Premier by 310.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 115,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 87,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Premier in the 3rd quarter worth $1,414,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.88, for a total value of $437,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,444,149.16. This represents a 15.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 502,354 shares in the company, valued at $10,951,317.20. The trade was a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,874 shares of company stock valued at $891,703. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of PINC stock opened at $17.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of -174.58 and a beta of 0.43. Premier, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.29 and a fifty-two week high of $23.56.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is presently -840.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PINC. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.17.

Premier 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.