Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Price Target Raised to $20.00

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its target price hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Premier presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.44.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.88. 1,162,772 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,362,127. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.73. Premier has a 12 month low of $17.95 and a 12 month high of $23.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Premier will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $358,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 540,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,804,860. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $358,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 540,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,804,860. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,449.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,441 shares of company stock worth $2,738,548. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Premier by 265.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 50.0% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Premier during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.