Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 12,677 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453,332 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,677 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Premier worth $8,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Premier by 137.3% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,570 shares of the company's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 16,531 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Premier by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 403,820 shares of the company's stock worth $7,786,000 after purchasing an additional 85,234 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Premier by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 103,582 shares of the company's stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 16,663 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Premier during the 1st quarter worth approximately $917,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Premier by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 132,340 shares of the company's stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 34,714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PINC shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.20.

Insider Activity at Premier

In related news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total value of $26,185.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $660,339.19. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,123.84. The trade was a 9.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,119 shares of company stock valued at $321,676 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of Premier stock traded up $0.13 on Wednesday, reaching $21.01. 2,034,506 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,302,447. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.41 and its 200-day moving average is $20.72. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $23.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86 and a beta of 0.56.

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Premier's payout ratio is 147.37%.

About Premier

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.