Brokerages Set Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) PT at $25.15

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.15.

PINC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 price objective on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on Premier in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

Premier Stock Down 1.3 %

PINC stock opened at $20.88 on Friday. Premier has a twelve month low of $18.89 and a twelve month high of $33.43. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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. Premier had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. The business had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $338.55 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Premier will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 60.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PINC. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in Premier by 451.8% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 53,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after buying an additional 43,860 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Premier by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,240,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,679,000 after buying an additional 471,683 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Premier in the 3rd quarter valued at $264,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Premier in the 3rd quarter valued at $630,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 25,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 3,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.