Premier, Inc. $PINC Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

Key Points

• The State of Alaska Department of Revenue significantly reduced its stake in Premier, Inc. by 82.7%, selling 234,317 shares and leaving it with approximately 49,030 shares valued at $1,074,000.
• Premier has seen mixed reactions from analysts; while some raised price targets, the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $26.07 according to MarketBeat.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, resulting in a 3.0% yield, despite a high payout ratio of 381.82%.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 82.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,030 shares of the company's stock after selling 234,317 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.06% of Premier worth $1,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Premier by 2,482.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 461,445 shares of the company's stock worth $8,896,000 after buying an additional 443,574 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Premier by 101.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 809,939 shares of the company's stock worth $15,616,000 after acquiring an additional 407,373 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Premier in the first quarter valued at $6,414,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 292,979 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Premier by 74.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 570,505 shares of the company's stock worth $10,999,000 after purchasing an additional 244,251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PINC. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Premier from $26.00 to $28.25 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Premier in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Premier currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $26.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other Premier news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total transaction of $34,096.15. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 94,331 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,456.35. This represents a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director owned 27,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,153.44. This represents a 3.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,326 shares of company stock valued at $317,230. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Premier Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:PINC opened at $27.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.82 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $25.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.72. Premier, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.23 and a fifty-two week high of $28.79.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Premier's payout ratio is 381.82%.

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.

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