Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Stock Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,445,001 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 168,719 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 1.21% of Premier worth $32,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PINC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,013,386 shares of the company's stock worth $301,288,000 after buying an additional 1,597,067 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Premier by 2.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,117,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,009,000 after acquiring an additional 133,598 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Premier by 65.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,609,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,438,000 after acquiring an additional 2,225,828 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake 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 worth $193,787,000 after purchasing an additional 130,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,388,977 shares of the company's stock worth $72,863,000 after purchasing an additional 347,158 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of PINC stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $21.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,282,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,285,090. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.38. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.89 and a 12-month high of $33.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $21.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.20. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. Premier had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $338.55 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Premier's payout ratio is 60.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Premier Company 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.