Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,185 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,385 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Cardinal Health worth $16,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Cardinal Health by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth about $33,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

CAH stock traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $118.28. 9,160,340 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,130,367. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $117.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.02. The firm has a market cap of $28.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.61. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.17 and a 1-year high of $126.23.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.90 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 56.56% and a net margin of 0.56%. Cardinal Health's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CAH shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cardinal Health from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.50.

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.