Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Position in Premier, Inc. $PINC

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Premier, Inc. by 4.6% in Q1, holding approximately 1.9 million shares valued at $36.6 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Russell Investments Group and Sterling Capital Management, also raised their holdings in Premier stock, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Premier announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, representing an annualized yield of 3.4%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 147.37%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,897,424 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 84,016 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.08% of Premier worth $36,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Premier by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 741,739 shares of the company's stock worth $15,725,000 after buying an additional 126,217 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Premier during the fourth quarter worth $892,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Premier by 1,435.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,924 shares of the company's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 21,431 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC acquired a new position in shares of Premier during the fourth quarter worth $282,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Premier

In other Premier news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total transaction of $45,760.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,123.84. This trade represents a 9.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 28,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,339.19. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of Premier stock traded down $0.2940 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.2860. 783,140 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,619,451. Premier, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.23 and a 12 month high of $27.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.86. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.96 and a beta of 0.56.

Premier Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 381.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PINC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Premier from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $24.00.

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.