Amalgamated Bank Sells 16,070 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 32.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,070 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Premier were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in Premier in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Premier by 137.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Premier by 265.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Premier by 50.0% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Premier in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Performance

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

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, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PINC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.36.

Insider Activity at Premier

In other Premier news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total value of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 520,728 shares in the company, valued at $12,060,060.48. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. This represents a 4.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 142,856 shares of company stock valued at $2,941,879. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.