American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 292,979 Shares of Premier, Inc. $PINC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Premier, Inc. by 11.3%, now owning approximately 3.17% of the company valued at about $55.75 million.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for Premier's shares, with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $22.57.
• Premier recently reported a quarterly earnings result that surpassed expectations, earning $0.43 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.34, although revenue was down 12.5% year-over-year.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,891,710 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 292,979 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 3.17% of Premier worth $55,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Premier by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,371 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Premier by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Premier during the first quarter worth approximately $125,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Premier during the first quarter worth approximately $125,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Premier by 97.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,719 shares of the company's stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 3,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of PINC stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Monday, hitting $25.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,851,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,935,977. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.82 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $22.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.97. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $27.26.

Premier Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Premier

In other Premier news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $26,185.11. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,673 shares in the company, valued at $660,339.19. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total value of $45,760.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,123.84. The trade was a 9.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PINC shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Premier from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $24.50.

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.