Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Price Target Raised to $27.00 at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Investment analysts at Robert W. Baird have raised their price target for Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) from $22.00 to $27.00, indicating a potential upside as the firm maintains a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• The consensus rating for Premier is currently "Reduce," with an average target price of $23.29, based on reports from multiple brokerage firms.
• In its latest earnings report, Premier surpassed expectations with an EPS of $0.43, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 12.5% to $262.86 million.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Robert W. Baird from $22.00 to $27.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on PINC. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $24.00.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of PINC stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,612,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,903,392. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.30 and a 200-day moving average of $20.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.28 and a beta of 0.56. Premier has a 12-month low of $17.23 and a 12-month high of $27.26.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 381.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total value of $45,760.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,123.84. This trade represents a 9.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total value of $26,185.11. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,339.19. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 17.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,259,088 shares of the company's stock worth $93,402,000 after purchasing an additional 638,498 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 7.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,100,474 shares of the company's stock worth $67,993,000 after purchasing an additional 208,764 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 33.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,171 shares of the company's stock worth $49,285,000 after purchasing an additional 561,262 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 4.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,897,424 shares of the company's stock worth $36,582,000 after purchasing an additional 84,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the second quarter worth about $37,151,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

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.