Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 323,044 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,988,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 323,044 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 5.98% of Premier worth $119,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Premier by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Premier by 265.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Premier during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Premier Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ PINC opened at $22.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.57 and a 200 day moving average of $19.84. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.43.

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

Premier Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PINC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays lifted their target price 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, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.83, for a total value of $403,310.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 578,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,042,718.69. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. The trade was a 4.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 142,856 shares of company stock worth $2,941,879. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Premier Company 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.