Michael J. Alkire Sells 18,374 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total value of $400,553.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,354 shares in the company, valued at $10,951,317.20. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of Premier stock opened at $21.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.42. Premier, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.95 and a 1 year high of $23.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.14.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The business’s revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 38.3% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 4,231 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 15.5% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 3,884 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Premier in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,043,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Premier during the second quarter worth $56,000. 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.