Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Price Target Cut to $19.00 by Analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its target price reduced by Canaccord Genuity Group from $21.00 to $19.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of PINC opened at $19.21 on Wednesday. Premier has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $23.56. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.76 and a 200-day moving average of $20.94.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced 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 return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The firm had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Premier will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Premier’s payout ratio is 61.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $25,207.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,142.74. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,425 shares of company stock valued at $1,320,242 in the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Premier

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Premier by 157.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Premier by 297.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Premier by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 58,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Premier by 619.9% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 5,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Premier in the fourth quarter valued at $353,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.