Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Stake Raised by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,430 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,990 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Premier were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Premier by 27.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 428,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,562,000 after purchasing an additional 92,766 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Premier by 60.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,051,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,303,000 after purchasing an additional 772,392 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Premier by 6.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Premier in the third quarter worth approximately $678,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Premier by 5.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,741,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,836,000 after acquiring an additional 97,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $25,207.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,142.74. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $400,553.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,951,317.20. The trade was a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 94,825 shares of company stock valued at $1,980,442 over the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Premier Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of PINC stock opened at $21.51 on Friday. Premier, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.95 and a 12 month high of $23.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.54 and a 200-day moving average of $20.21.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Premier’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Premier’s payout ratio is presently 61.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on PINC shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Benchmark downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Premier presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

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.