Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Shares Bought by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,272 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,048 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Premier were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Premier

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 2,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $52,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 580,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,601,460. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 2,625 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $52,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 580,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,601,460. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total value of $90,038.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 104,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,141,449.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 166,312 shares of company stock valued at $3,358,500. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of Premier stock opened at $19.89 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.08, a P/E/G ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.40. Premier, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.95 and a 1 year high of $23.01.

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

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is presently 131.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.