Vontobel Holding Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,382 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Premier were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Premier in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,339,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Premier by 246.5% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Premier by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,445,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,310,000 after acquiring an additional 168,719 shares during the last quarter. Cubic Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Premier in the 4th quarter worth approximately $447,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Premier by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PINC shares. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink started 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 started coverage on Premier in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. 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 assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Premier has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.15.

Premier Stock Performance

NASDAQ PINC opened at $21.05 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.18. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.43. Premier, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.89 and a fifty-two week high of $33.58.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $338.55 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. Sell-side analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.43%.

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.