Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,951,043 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 773,207 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.68% of Premier worth $111,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Premier by 711.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 163,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,645,000 after purchasing an additional 142,907 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier by 79.5% during the first quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 264,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 117,242 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 532,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,916,000 after purchasing an additional 126,640 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,686,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier by 1,496.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 94,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 88,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PINC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Benchmark lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of 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 dropped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 163,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,053,978.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total value of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,449.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total transaction of $372,600.00. Following the completion of 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 166,312 shares of company stock valued at $3,358,500. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Premier Price Performance

Premier stock opened at $19.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.08, a P/E/G ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.01. Premier, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.95 and a 12 month high of $23.01.

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

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.