Ethic Inc. Takes $249,000 Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Premier by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Premier by 157.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Premier by 61,750.0% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Premier by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Premier by 297.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 10,982 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.74, for a total value of $249,730.68. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 76,093 shares in the company, valued at $1,730,354.82. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 22,119 shares of company stock worth $464,974 in the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.06. 1,190,505 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,246,230. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of -230.58 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $20.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.73. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.23 and a twelve month high of $23.56.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Premier's dividend payout ratio is currently 147.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PINC. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. 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 report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.20.

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.