Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Purchases 20,416 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 339,808 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,416 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Premier worth $7,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PINC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,271,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 139.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,121,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,017 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 8,726.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 374,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,275,000 after purchasing an additional 370,192 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 690.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 352,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,015,000 after purchasing an additional 308,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 37.7% during the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,027,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,706,000 after purchasing an additional 281,131 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PINC has been the subject of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Premier from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Premier from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of Premier in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.68. 1,001,307 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 885,834. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.37. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $28.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.07. Premier had a net margin of 6.01% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The firm had revenue of $342.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.92 million. As a group, analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Premier news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 13,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.55, for a total transaction of $247,438.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 92,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,706,618.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Premier news, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 288,110 shares in the company, valued at $5,762,200. 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 13,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.55, for a total transaction of $247,438.45. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 92,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,706,618.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 157,846 shares of company stock worth $3,099,352. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.