LSV Asset Management Increases Stock Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 116.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 256,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 138,200 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Premier were worth $4,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Premier during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,271,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Premier by 139.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,121,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,017 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 8,726.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 374,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,275,000 after acquiring an additional 370,192 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,027,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,706,000 after acquiring an additional 281,131 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis raised its position in shares of Premier by 162.3% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 452,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,989,000 after acquiring an additional 279,700 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PINC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Benchmark cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.94.

Insider Activity at Premier

In other Premier news, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 288,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,762,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total value of $372,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 163,928 shares in the company, valued at $3,053,978.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 30,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 288,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,762,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 156,312 shares of company stock valued at $3,154,400 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PINC opened at $19.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.40. Premier, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.95 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.06.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.88 million. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 131.25%.

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.