Raymond James & Associates Sells 207,052 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 42.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 281,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207,052 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.24% of Premier worth $6,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Premier by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Premier by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Premier by 397.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new position in shares of Premier during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Premier in the first quarter worth $84,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Premier Stock Performance

PINC stock opened at $21.35 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.21. Premier, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.89 and a twelve month high of $33.58. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.38.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $338.55 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. Analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 60.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PINC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays initiated coverage on Premier in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.15.

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.