Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 838,518 Shares of Premier, Inc. $PINC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Premier, Inc. by 7.6%, owning 10.2 million shares valued at approximately $196.85 million after the sale of over 800,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Premier, Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.2%, with the dividend payout ratio at 147.37%.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.43 per share, beating analysts' estimates, but experienced a 12.5% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,210,086 shares of the company's stock after selling 838,518 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.18% of Premier worth $196,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Premier by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,392,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,851,000 after buying an additional 117,398 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Premier by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 921,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,760,000 after buying an additional 66,391 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Premier by 3.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Premier by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 741,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,725,000 after buying an additional 126,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Premier by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 563,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,872,000 after buying an additional 161,501 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of PINC stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $25.70. 1,851,593 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,935,977. Premier, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.23 and a 52-week high of $27.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.82 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.97.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Premier's payout ratio is presently 381.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $26,185.11. Following the sale, the director owned 28,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $660,339.19. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 18,668 shares in the company, valued at $427,123.84. The trade was a 9.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Eight 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, Premier has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $24.50.

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.