Michael J. Alkire Sells 18,736 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,736 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.05, for a total value of $375,656.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 559,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,216,110.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Premier Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC opened at $19.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.15 and a 200 day moving average of $19.94. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.40. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.95 and a 12-month high of $23.01.

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

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is presently 131.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PINC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Benchmark downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.94.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,213,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,805,000 after acquiring an additional 199,702 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 384.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,311,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,828,000 after acquiring an additional 5,007,851 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,951,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,105,000 after acquiring an additional 773,207 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Premier by 139.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,121,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Premier by 60.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,051,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,303,000 after purchasing an additional 772,392 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.