Raymond James & Associates Has $6.30 Million Stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 42.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 281,919 shares of the company's stock after selling 207,052 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.24% of Premier worth $6,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Premier by 12.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,013,386 shares of the company's stock worth $301,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,067 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,117,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,009,000 after buying an additional 133,598 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,539,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $193,787,000 after acquiring an additional 130,946 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,388,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,863,000 after acquiring an additional 347,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Premier by 11.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,038,366 shares of the company's stock worth $98,352,000 after acquiring an additional 310,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Stock Performance

PINC stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.64. 874,996 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,613,957. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.21. Premier, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.89 and a 52 week high of $33.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $338.55 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Premier's dividend payout ratio is 60.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Premier 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.