Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases Shares of 248,822 Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 248,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,275,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PINC. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in Premier by 123.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 842,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,857,000 after purchasing an additional 464,710 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Premier by 109.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 468,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,933,000 after buying an additional 245,239 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Premier by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,598,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,093,000 after buying an additional 104,452 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Premier by 554.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 98,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,098,000 after buying an additional 83,831 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Premier in the fourth quarter valued at $1,570,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Premier

In other news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 10,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $195,300.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 90,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,359.41. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC opened at $19.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.41. The company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -192.48 and a beta of 0.51. Premier, Inc. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $23.56.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently -840.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PINC. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.17.

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.