Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,003 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Premier were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Premier during the first quarter valued at $418,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $38,303,000 after buying an additional 772,392 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 98,544 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Premier in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $678,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Premier by 384.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,311,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,828,000 after acquiring an additional 5,007,851 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Price Performance

NASDAQ:PINC opened at $22.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.40. Premier, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.95 and a 1 year high of $23.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.79.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced 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. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Premier’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors 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 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s payout ratio is 61.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 131,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,584,091.34. This represents a 13.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total transaction of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,060,060.48. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 142,856 shares of company stock worth $2,941,879. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on PINC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.