Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock Holdings Reduced by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 494,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,756 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.51% of Premier worth $9,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Premier by 384.3% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,311,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,828,000 after acquiring an additional 5,007,851 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Premier by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,951,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,105,000 after purchasing an additional 773,207 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 772,392 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Premier in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,138,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 145.5% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 381,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,128,000 after purchasing an additional 226,290 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on PINC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.88, for a total transaction of $437,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 111,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,444,149.16. This trade represents a 15.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 23,846 shares in the company, valued at $529,142.74. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 74,825 shares of company stock valued at $1,624,692. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Premier Price Performance

NASDAQ:PINC opened at $21.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.35. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $23.56.

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. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The business had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is 61.76%.

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.