Venturi Wealth Management LLC Acquires 5,523 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 619.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,414 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,523 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Premier were worth $136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning increased its stake in Premier by 13.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 58,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 7,038 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Premier in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,466,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Premier by 64.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 9,796 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in Premier in the third quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in Premier in the third quarter valued at approximately $287,000. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased 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 Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC opened at $18.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -186.08 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.87 and its 200-day moving average is $20.77. Premier, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $23.56.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -839.92%.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In other news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $25,207.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,142.74. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $53,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,708.56. This trade represents a 10.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,010 shares of company stock worth $916,911. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Premier 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.