Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $7.51 Million Stock Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 339,808 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,416 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Premier were worth $7,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Premier by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,213,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,805,000 after purchasing an additional 199,702 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Premier in the 4th quarter worth about $51,271,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Premier by 139.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,121,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,017 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Premier by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,445,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,310,000 after acquiring an additional 168,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Premier by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,615,000 after acquiring an additional 129,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PINC traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.68. 1,001,307 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,834. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.37. Premier, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.95 and a fifty-two week high of $28.03.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $342.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.92 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 6.01%. On average, analysts expect that Premier, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PINC shares. StockNews.com raised Premier from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Premier from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Premier in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Premier from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total value of $396,443.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 543,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,487,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,375 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.13, for a total transaction of $349,758.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 562,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,327,110.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total value of $396,443.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 543,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,487,738.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 157,846 shares of company stock valued at $3,099,352 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.