Insider Selling: Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Sells $403,310.46 in Stock

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 578,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,042,718.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of Premier stock traded down $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $20.47. 580,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,470,305. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.11. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.40. Premier, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.95 and a 1-year high of $23.56.

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

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PINC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Benchmark cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Premier from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Premier currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Premier by 711.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 163,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,645,000 after purchasing an additional 142,907 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,615,000 after acquiring an additional 129,813 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 79.5% in the first quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 264,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 117,242 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Premier by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Premier by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 532,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,916,000 after purchasing an additional 126,640 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.