Principal Securities Inc. Decreases Stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Principal Securities Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 61.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,488 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,562 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 39.7% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 18.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 5.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 21.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,640,000 after acquiring an additional 4,253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 0.3 %

Cardinal Health stock opened at $126.96 on Friday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.17 and a twelve month high of $132.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Argus set a $148.00 target price on Cardinal Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.40.

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.