Premier, Inc. $PINC Stock Position Cut by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has reduced its stake in Premier, Inc. by 15.2%, resulting in ownership of approximately 58,593 shares valued at $1,285,000.
• Premier's stock has seen a significant performance fluctuation, with a 52-week low of $17.23 and a high of $28.79, and currently trading at $28.12.
• The company has a dividend yield of 3.0% with a quarterly dividend of $0.21 declared, although it has a high payout ratio of 381.82%.

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its stake in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,593 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,509 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Premier worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Premier by 11.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,891,710 shares of the company's stock worth $55,752,000 after purchasing an additional 292,979 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Premier by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,897,424 shares of the company's stock worth $36,582,000 after buying an additional 84,016 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 117,398 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Premier by 7.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, 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. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC opened at $28.12 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $27.02 and its 200-day moving average is $23.61. Premier, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.23 and a 52 week high of $28.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 127.82 and a beta of 0.64.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of ($713.06) million for the quarter. Premier had a return on equity of 7.04% and a net margin of 2.00%. On average, analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 381.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Premier news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,456.35. The trade was a 1.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 6,521 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $168,176.59. Following the transaction, the insider owned 99,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,738.13. The trade was a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,326 shares of company stock worth $317,230 over the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on PINC shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Premier from $26.00 to $28.25 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Premier from $25.00 to $28.25 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Premier in a report on Saturday. 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 note on Wednesday, August 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $26.07.

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.

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