Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Holdings in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 137.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,570 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,531 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Premier were worth $551,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Premier by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,598,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,093,000 after acquiring an additional 104,452 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Premier by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 762,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,162,000 after acquiring an additional 21,861 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Premier by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 741,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,725,000 after purchasing an additional 126,217 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 719,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,255,000 after purchasing an additional 137,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 489,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,376,000 after purchasing an additional 11,599 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Premier stock opened at $21.01 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86 and a beta of 0.56. Premier, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.23 and a 12-month high of $23.56.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total transaction of $45,760.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,123.84. This trade represents a 9.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,137 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $26,185.11. Following the sale, the director owned 28,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,339.19. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,119 shares of company stock worth $321,676. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PINC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Premier currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.20.

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.