Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 27.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 428,076 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,766 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Premier were worth $8,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Premier by 384.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,311,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,828,000 after purchasing an additional 5,007,851 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Premier by 14.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,951,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,105,000 after acquiring an additional 773,207 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Premier by 60.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,051,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,303,000 after purchasing an additional 772,392 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Premier by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,027,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,706,000 after purchasing an additional 281,131 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis increased its holdings in shares of Premier by 162.3% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 452,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,989,000 after purchasing an additional 279,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,584,091.34. This trade represents a 13.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.83, for a total transaction of $403,310.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 578,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,042,718.69. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 142,856 shares of company stock valued at $2,941,879. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on PINC shares. Benchmark lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com cut Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.36.

Premier Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PINC opened at $22.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.80. Premier, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.95 and a 52-week high of $23.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Premier’s payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

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.