AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Premier, Inc. $PINC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Premier, Inc. by 6.1%, bringing its total ownership to approximately 934,802 shares valued at $17.97 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Premier, with notable increases including Advisors Asset Management's 126.7% and Royal Bank of Canada's 2,482.1% in the 1st quarter.
• Premier has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, providing an annualized yield of 3.1%, following the company's recent performance and analyst reports.

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 934,802 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,104 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.02% of Premier worth $17,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. CW Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Premier by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 26,166 shares of the company's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Premier by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 56,826 shares of the company's stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in Premier by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Premier by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 17,806 shares of the company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in Premier by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 13,238 shares of the company's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Premier

In related news, insider Andy Brailo sold 6,521 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $168,176.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 99,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,738.13. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $29,323.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,153.44. This trade represents a 3.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,326 shares of company stock worth $317,230. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PINC traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.51. 837,014 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,810,580. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.23 and a twelve month high of $28.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.51 and a beta of 0.61.

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 381.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PINC shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $25.29.

About Premier

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.