Analysts Set Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Price Target at $25.29

Key Points

• Premier, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from seven research firms, with one sell rating and six hold ratings, alongside an average target price of $25.29.
• Insider transactions raised concerns as key executives sold significant shares recently, indicating a 3.33% and 6.15% decrease in their ownership stakes, respectively.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, set to be paid on September 15, but has a high dividend payout ratio of 381.82%.

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.2857.

PINC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Premier from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In other news, insider Andy Brailo sold 6,521 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $168,176.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,564,738.13. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $29,323.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,153.44. The trade was a 3.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,326 shares of company stock valued at $317,230 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CW Advisors LLC raised its position in Premier by 1.8% during the first quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 26,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Premier by 198.2% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Premier by 24.4% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Premier by 3.2% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Premier by 72.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of PINC stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 897,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,862,095. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 120.91 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.58 and a 200-day moving average of $21.71. Premier has a 52 week low of $17.23 and a 52 week high of $28.79.

Premier Announces Dividend

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

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.