The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stock Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,075 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Premier were worth $398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the first quarter worth approximately $1,686,000. 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 worth $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 88,800 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Premier by 8,726.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 374,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,275,000 after purchasing an additional 370,192 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the first quarter worth approximately $418,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Premier by 10.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 215,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,742,000 after purchasing an additional 20,419 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Up 2.0 %

PINC opened at $19.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.41. Premier, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.95 and a 52 week high of $23.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.77.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $350.30 million for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 131.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total transaction of $396,443.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 543,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,487,738.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total value of $396,443.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 543,927 shares in the company, valued at $11,487,738.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.13, for a total value of $349,758.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 562,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,327,110.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 153,687 shares of company stock worth $3,126,750. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PINC. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Benchmark lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.81.

Premier 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.