Michael J. Alkire Sells 17,415 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 owns 520,728 shares in the company, valued at $12,060,060.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PINC traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.75. 294,734 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,349,593. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.77. Premier, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.95 and a 52 week 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, 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 firm had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PINC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Premier by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 104,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Premier in the 1st quarter valued at about $418,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Premier by 8,726.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 374,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,275,000 after acquiring an additional 370,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in Premier during the first quarter worth $27,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on PINC shares. Benchmark cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Premier presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.36.

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.