New York State Teachers Retirement System Raises Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,760 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,460 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Premier were worth $710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Premier by 48.5% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Premier by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Premier by 1.6% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Premier by 4.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Premier by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 32,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Price Performance

NASDAQ:PINC opened at $20.79 on Friday. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $18.89 and a one year high of $33.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.18.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. Premier had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $338.55 million. Research analysts expect that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Premier’s payout ratio is 60.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Premier in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.