Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

CAH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Argus boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.36.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

NYSE CAH opened at $111.93 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.00. Cardinal Health has a 52-week low of $90.19 and a 52-week high of $116.05. The stock has a market cap of $27.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.75, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.60.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.10. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 54.85% and a net margin of 0.37%. The business had revenue of $59.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Cardinal Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.506 per share. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michelle D. Greene sold 4,000 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.85, for a total transaction of $435,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,094,491.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 26,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $2,908,570.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 244,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,574,187.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michelle D. Greene sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.85, for a total value of $435,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,094,491.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,963 shares of company stock valued at $12,379,980. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth $244,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Cardinal Health by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,454,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Cardinal Health by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $515,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc operates as a healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home.