Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Shares Sold by Newport Trust Company LLC

Newport Trust Company LLC cut its stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,533,701 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,700 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC owned approximately 2.42% of Premier worth $47,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Premier in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Premier by 265.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Premier by 50.0% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Premier

In related news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $26,327.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 102,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,045,241.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Premier news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total transaction of $26,327.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 102,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,045,241.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 2,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $52,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 580,073 shares in the company, valued at $11,601,460. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,312 shares of company stock worth $3,154,400 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PINC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Benchmark cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Premier presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.94.

Premier Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC opened at $20.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.40. Premier, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.95 and a fifty-two week high of $23.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.03.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 131.25%.

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.