Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Takes $6.41 Million Position in Premier, Inc. $PINC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Premier, Inc., purchasing 332,654 shares valued at approximately $6.4 million.
• A significant portion of Premier's stock, around 74.41%, is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, with several firms increasing their stakes during the last quarter.
• Industry analysts have raised their price targets for Premier, with the consensus rating currently set at "Hold" and an average target price of $22.20.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 332,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,414,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.36% of Premier at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Premier by 4.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,897,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,582,000 after buying an additional 84,016 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Premier by 9.2% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,392,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,851,000 after buying an additional 117,398 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Premier by 7.8% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 921,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,760,000 after buying an additional 66,391 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Premier by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 762,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,162,000 after buying an additional 21,861 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Premier by 5.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 760,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,671,000 after buying an additional 41,342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $24.00.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In other Premier news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $26,185.11. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $660,339.19. The trade was a 3.81% 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 2,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total transaction of $45,760.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,668 shares in the company, valued at $427,123.84. This trade represents a 9.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Premier Trading Down 1.7%

PINC stock traded down $0.4250 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.1550. 972,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,620,240. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.86. Premier, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.23 and a 1 year high of $27.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.35 and a beta of 0.56.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Premier's payout ratio is 381.82%.

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.