Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Premier, Inc. $PINC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Premier, Inc. by 2.5%, now owning 508,288 shares worth approximately $9.8 million.
• Insider trading activity included sales by Andy Brailo and John T. Bigalke, with a total of 12,326 shares sold worth $317,230 in the last 90 days.
• Premier recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing a 3.1% dividend yield and a notably high payout ratio of 381.82%.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 508,288 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,303 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Premier worth $9,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the first quarter valued at $125,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the first quarter valued at $125,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Premier by 97.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 3,813 shares during the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Premier by 16.7% during the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PINC traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.60. The company had a trading volume of 897,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,862,095. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.71. Premier, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.23 and a 12 month high of $28.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Premier Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Premier

In other news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 3,349 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.57, for a total value of $85,633.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 97,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,486,861.49. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $29,323.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,536 shares in the company, valued at $710,153.44. This trade represents a 3.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,326 shares of company stock valued at $317,230 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PINC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Premier from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $25.29.

Premier 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.