Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,119,483 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,127 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 3.46% of Premier worth $92,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted 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 buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Premier by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Premier by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Premier by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Premier by 53.0% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.41, for a total value of $388,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 183,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,042.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.41, for a total value of $388,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 183,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,042.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 6,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.85, for a total value of $131,585.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,929.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,960 shares of company stock valued at $683,406. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Down 0.1 %

Premier stock opened at $19.32 on Thursday. Premier, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.65 and a 1-year high of $28.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.23.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company 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 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 131.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PINC. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Premier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of Premier in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Premier from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $27.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.50.

Premier 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.