Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 17,212 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,810 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,212 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.18% of Premier worth $4,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Premier by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Premier by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Premier by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Premier by 153.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Premier by 141.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Performance

Premier stock opened at $18.67 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.87. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $28.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.07. Premier had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 6.01%. The company had revenue of $342.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.92 million. Research analysts expect that Premier, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Premier’s payout ratio is 131.25%.

Insider Activity at Premier

In other Premier news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.41, for a total value of $388,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 183,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,042.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 6,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.85, for a total transaction of $131,585.65. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,929.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.41, for a total value of $388,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 183,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,042.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,075 shares of company stock worth $1,328,050 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $21.00 price target (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Premier in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Premier from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Premier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Premier from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.