Inspire Investing LLC Trims Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Inspire Investing LLC trimmed its stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,908 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,668 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Premier were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Premier by 61,750.0% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Premier by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Premier during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Premier by 576.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Premier by 356,500.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 3,565 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Premier Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ PINC opened at $22.39 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 0.43. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.95 and a 12-month high of $23.56.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total value of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 520,728 shares in the company, valued at $12,060,060.48. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $53,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,708.56. This represents a 10.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,425 shares of company stock valued at $1,320,242. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.