Brokerages Set Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Target Price at $21.36

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.36.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PINC. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th.

Insider Activity at Premier

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total value of $25,292.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 558,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,168,441.43. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total value of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. The trade was a 4.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,856 shares of company stock worth $2,941,879 in the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Premier by 8,726.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 374,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,275,000 after acquiring an additional 370,192 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Premier during the first quarter worth about $418,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 60.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,051,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,303,000 after purchasing an additional 772,392 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Premier by 6.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,241,000 after buying an additional 98,544 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Premier by 27.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 428,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,562,000 after acquiring an additional 92,766 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of PINC stock opened at $22.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.36 and a 200 day moving average of $19.79. Premier has a 52 week low of $17.95 and a 52 week high of $23.43.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The company’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Premier will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s payout ratio is presently 61.77%.

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.