Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC – Get Rating) by 50.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,685 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Premier were worth $94,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in Premier in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Premier by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Premier by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its position in shares of Premier by 167.2% during the 3rd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Premier by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 66.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of PINC opened at $26.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.72. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $25.91 and a one year high of $38.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.77 and its 200-day moving average is $32.28.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PINC has been the topic of several recent research reports. SVB Leerink decreased their price objective on shares of Premier from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Credit Suisse Group raised shares of Premier from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Premier from $46.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Premier from $31.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Premier in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.22.

About Premier

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Premier, Inc engages in the provision of healthcare improvement solutions. It operates through the Supply Chain Services and Performance Services segments. The Supply Chain Services segment includes healthcare group purchasing organization (GPO) programs in the United States, supply chain co-management, and direct sourcing activities.