Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Price Target Cut to $19.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark downgraded Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped 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. Robert W. Baird reduced 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, StockNews.com cut shares of Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Premier currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $21.94.

Premier Trading Down 3.6 %

NASDAQ PINC opened at $19.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.40. Premier has a 1-year low of $17.95 and a 1-year high of $23.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.82 and a 200-day moving average of $20.08.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.88 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Premier will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 131.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total value of $372,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,053,978.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 288,110 shares in the company, valued at $5,762,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total transaction of $372,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,053,978.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 134,922 shares of company stock valued at $2,717,392. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Premier

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Premier by 265.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Premier by 141.2% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.