Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.29 and last traded at $28.23, with a volume of 126916 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PINC. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Premier from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Premier presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $24.50.

Premier Trading Up 9.0%

The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.09 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.46.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors 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 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 381.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other Premier news, insider Andy Brailo sold 6,521 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $168,176.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 99,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,738.13. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $29,323.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,153.44. This trade represents a 3.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,326 shares of company stock worth $317,230. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PINC. 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,151,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Premier by 17.6% during the 2nd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Premier by 33.3% during the 2nd 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Premier by 2,482.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 461,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,896,000 after purchasing an additional 443,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Premier by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 809,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,616,000 after purchasing an additional 407,373 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.