Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,013,386 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,597,067 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.76% of Premier worth $301,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Premier by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,423,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,558 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Premier in the 4th quarter valued at $24,419,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Premier by 368.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 829,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,951,000 after buying an additional 652,696 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Premier by 7,070.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 633,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,614,000 after buying an additional 624,357 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Premier in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,098,000. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ PINC traded up $0.30 on Thursday, reaching $22.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,611,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,657,790. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $21.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.25. Premier, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.89 and a fifty-two week high of $33.58. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.37.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $338.55 million. Premier had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 11.60%. Analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PINC. StockNews.com cut Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays started coverage on Premier in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, SVB Leerink started coverage on Premier in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $22.50 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.15.

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.