Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH)

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 7,328 put options on the company. This is an increase of 55% compared to the average daily volume of 4,730 put options.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH opened at $126.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.63. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $93.17 and a 52 week high of $132.84.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CAH shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.