Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.36.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAH shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cardinal Health news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.39, for a total value of $1,812,920.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,310,467.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Aaron E. Alt sold 2,323 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.91, for a total transaction of $252,997.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,015,184.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.39, for a total transaction of $1,812,920.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 75,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,310,467.69. 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. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth $258,499,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 435,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,917,000 after purchasing an additional 10,959 shares during the period. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

CAH stock opened at $111.40 on Thursday. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $85.82 and a 1-year high of $116.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $104.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.02. The company has a market capitalization of $27.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.51, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $0.506 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.78%.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

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.