Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.06), Zacks reports. Premier had a return on equity of 7.04% and a net margin of 2.00%.

Premier Price Performance

PINC traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.16. 202,213 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,627,991. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.98 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.34 and a 200 day moving average of $24.04. Premier has a 12-month low of $17.23 and a 12-month high of $28.79.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 381.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other Premier news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $34,096.15. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 94,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,456.35. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 6,521 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $168,176.59. Following the transaction, the insider owned 99,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,738.13. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,326 shares of company stock valued at $317,230 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PINC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Premier by 155.1% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier by 316.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Premier by 131.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Premier by 1,069.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 7,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PINC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners upped their price target on Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Premier in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Premier from $26.00 to $28.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $26.07.

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.