Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Given New $20.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its price target upped by Robert W. Baird from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on PINC. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Benchmark downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.36.

Premier Stock Performance

PINC stock opened at $22.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.40. Premier has a fifty-two week low of $17.95 and a fifty-two week high of $23.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.13 and a 200-day moving average of $19.73.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Premier will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 104,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.83, for a total transaction of $403,310.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 578,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,042,718.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,441 shares of company stock worth $2,738,548. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the 3rd quarter valued at about $316,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Premier by 812.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 13,457 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Premier by 148.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Premier by 356,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,565 shares during the period. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP increased its stake in Premier by 262.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 13,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 9,498 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.