Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Premier, Inc. $PINC

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Premier, Inc. by 5.6%, owning approximately $3.59 million worth of stock after selling 11,000 shares.
• Premier recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.3%, despite having a relatively high payout ratio of 147.37%.
• Research analysts have adjusted their price targets for Premier, with estimates ranging from $21.00 to $27.00, while the consensus rating remains a "Hold."

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,112 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Premier worth $3,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Premier by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Premier by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 1,767 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in Premier by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 13,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in Premier by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 24,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Premier by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 3,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 28,673 shares in the company, valued at $660,339.19. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 3,349 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.57, for a total transaction of $85,633.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 97,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,486,861.49. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,486 shares of company stock worth $157,579 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PINC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $24.50.

Premier Price Performance

PINC traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, hitting $25.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,497,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,460. Premier, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.23 and a 52-week high of $27.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.55 and a beta of 0.56.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 381.82%.

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.