Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Shares Down 5.9%

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)’s stock price was down 5.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $19.46 and last traded at $19.49. Approximately 2,666,423 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,533,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PINC. SVB Leerink started coverage on Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.15.

Premier Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.39.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $334.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $338.55 million. Premier had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 11.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,213,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,805,000 after acquiring an additional 199,702 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Premier by 65.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,609,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225,828 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the 4th quarter worth $51,271,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Premier by 139.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,121,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,441,000 after buying an additional 1,235,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Premier by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,479,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,811,000 after buying an additional 532,918 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.