Hsbc Holdings PLC Lowers Stock Position in Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,179 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,004 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Premier were worth $583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PINC. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Premier by 1.6% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Premier by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Premier by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Premier by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in Premier by 53.0% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of PINC traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.53. 1,853,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,093,965. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.20. Premier, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.89 and a 1 year high of $28.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $334.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $338.55 million. Premier had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 11.60%. Equities analysts anticipate that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is 60.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PINC. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Premier has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.15.

Premier 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.