Norges Bank Buys New Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,086,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,748,000. Norges Bank owned 0.86% of Cardinal Health at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of Cardinal Health stock traded down $7.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $129.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,779,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,129,506. The stock has a market cap of $31.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.17 and a twelve month high of $139.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.15 and a 200-day moving average of $121.55.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAH. Argus set a $148.00 price target on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Cardinal Health from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Cardinal Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.14.

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.