10,500 Shares in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Purchased by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 10,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Premier by 153.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Premier by 53.0% in the third 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 period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Premier by 48.5% in the second 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 period. Amundi boosted its stake in Premier by 397.6% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Premier by 246.5% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on PINC shares. SVB Leerink started coverage on Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 target price for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Premier in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.15.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PINC opened at $20.79 on Friday. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.89 and a 12-month high of $33.58. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. Premier had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $338.55 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

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

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.