Newport Trust Company LLC Decreases Stock Position in Premier, Inc. $PINC

Key Points

• Newport Trust Company LLC reduced its stake in Premier, Inc. by 5.1%, owning approximately 1.07% of the company after selling 52,070 shares.
• Institutional investors currently own 74.41% of Premier's stock, with several firms increasing their holdings in recent months.
• Piper Sandler and Canaccord Genuity Group have both raised their price targets for Premier, now at $24.00 and $25.00, respectively, while the stock holds an average rating of "Reduce."

Newport Trust Company LLC cut its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 976,330 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,070 shares during the quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC owned 1.07% of Premier worth $18,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Premier by 11.3% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,891,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,752,000 after purchasing an additional 292,979 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Premier by 4.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,897,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,582,000 after purchasing an additional 84,016 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Premier by 9.2% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,392,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,851,000 after purchasing an additional 117,398 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Premier by 7.8% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 921,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,760,000 after purchasing an additional 66,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Premier by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 762,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,162,000 after buying an additional 21,861 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Premier from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Insider Activity at Premier

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

Premier Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ PINC traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.14. 1,612,583 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,935,977. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.93. Premier, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $27.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.28 and a beta of 0.56.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid 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 yield of 3.3%. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 381.82%.

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.