Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires New Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 248,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,275,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Premier as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PINC. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Premier by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 256,492 shares of the company's stock worth $5,465,000 after purchasing an additional 44,480 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Premier in the fourth quarter valued at about $386,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Premier in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $554,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Premier by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,589 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Premier by 70.2% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 143,803 shares of the company's stock worth $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 59,295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Premier news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total value of $195,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 90,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,359.41. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Premier Trading Down 0.3 %

Premier stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.39. The stock had a trading volume of 79,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,721. Premier, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.23 and a 12 month high of $23.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.41. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -193.98 and a beta of 0.51.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -840.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Premier has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.17.

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.