Insider Selling: Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Sells 1,264 Shares of Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total value of $25,292.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 558,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,168,441.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Premier Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ PINC opened at $19.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.94. Premier, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.95 and a 12 month high of $23.01.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.25. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The company had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. Premier’s payout ratio is presently 131.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PINC. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in Premier during the first quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Premier by 265.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing 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 purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 141.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Premier during the second quarter valued at about $47,000. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PINC shares. Benchmark lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.81.

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.