American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stake in 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. lifted its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,891,710 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 292,979 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.17% of Premier worth $55,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PINC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Premier during the first quarter worth $125,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Premier during the first quarter worth $125,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PINC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PINC traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,612,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,903,392. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.90. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.23 and a twelve month high of $27.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 114.28 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Premier's dividend payout ratio is presently 381.82%.

Insider Activity

In other Premier news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $26,185.11. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $660,339.19. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 18,668 shares in the company, valued at $427,123.84. This 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.