JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 117,946 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 477,829 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,946 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.50% of Premier worth $9,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in 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. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $38,303,000 after purchasing an additional 772,392 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,241,000 after purchasing an additional 98,544 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Premier by 70.2% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 143,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after buying an additional 59,295 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Premier by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,973,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,472,000 after buying an additional 32,193 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $358,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 540,243 shares in the company, valued at $10,804,860. This trade represents a 3.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $53,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,668 shares in the company, valued at $442,708.56. The trade was a 10.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,325 shares of company stock worth $1,678,242 in the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Premier Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Premier stock opened at $21.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.55. Premier, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.95 and a 52 week high of $23.56.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. Premier’s payout ratio is 61.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PINC shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Premier presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

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.