JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Price Target to $19.00

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PINC. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com lowered Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Benchmark lowered Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Premier currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $21.94.

Premier Stock Down 1.4 %

Premier stock opened at $19.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.61, a PEG ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.87 and its 200 day moving average is $20.06. Premier has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.20.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.88 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Premier will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 131.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $26,327.24. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 102,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,045,241.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total transaction of $372,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 163,928 shares in the company, valued at $3,053,978.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $26,327.24. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 102,467 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,241.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,312 shares of company stock valued at $3,154,400 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in Premier by 86.3% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 349,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 161,720 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in Premier by 29.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 11,645 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the second quarter valued at about $225,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the second quarter valued at about $468,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Premier by 6.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,241,000 after acquiring an additional 98,544 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.