Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Given New $19.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target points to a potential upside of 1.17% from the company’s current price.

PINC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.93.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of PINC stock traded down $0.33 on Wednesday, hitting $18.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 49,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,415. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 0.43. Premier has a fifty-two week low of $17.95 and a fifty-two week high of $23.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.83 and its 200-day moving average is $20.96.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Premier’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Premier will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total value of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 520,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,060,060.48. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $25,207.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,142.74. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,425 shares of company stock worth $1,320,242 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Premier by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Premier by 2.4% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 20,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 137.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Premier by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 11,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Premier by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 1,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.