Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 36,000 Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 151.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,795 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.05% of Premier worth $1,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PINC. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Premier by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,609,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225,828 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Premier by 12.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,013,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,067 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Premier by 7,070.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 633,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,614,000 after purchasing an additional 624,357 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Premier by 56.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,479,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,811,000 after acquiring an additional 532,918 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Premier by 61.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,240,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,679,000 after acquiring an additional 471,683 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Premier Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PINC opened at $20.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.18. Premier, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.89 and a 1-year high of $33.58.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. Premier had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 11.60%. The firm had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $338.55 million. Analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PINC. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Premier in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Premier in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.15.

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.