Barclays Raises Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Price Target to $24.00

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on PINC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Premier presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

Premier Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of PINC opened at $22.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.40. Premier 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 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 company had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Premier will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Premier’s payout ratio is presently 61.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.83, for a total transaction of $403,310.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 578,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,042,718.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.83, for a total value of $403,310.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 578,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,042,718.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,736 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.05, for a total value of $375,656.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 559,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,216,110.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,738,548. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Premier

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PINC. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Premier during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Premier by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Premier during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.