Venturi Wealth Management LLC Purchases 5,523 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 619.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,414 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,523 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Premier were worth $136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 28.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 20,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 1,171 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 61,750.0% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 23,846 shares in the company, valued at $529,142.74. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $400,553.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,354 shares in the company, valued at $10,951,317.20. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,010 shares of company stock worth $916,911 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on PINC. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Premier currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.50.

Premier Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of PINC stock opened at $18.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.77. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -186.08 and a beta of 0.43. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.69 and a 12-month high of $23.56.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -839.92%.

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.