Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 8,066 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 59,669 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,066 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $7,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 3,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAH. TD Cowen raised Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.36.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $124.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.17 and a 1-year high of $132.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.82 and its 200-day moving average is $119.08.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 37.69%.

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.