New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 324,676 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,865 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Cardinal Health worth $38,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,177,641 shares of the company's stock worth $1,566,913,000 after buying an additional 627,253 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,069,462 shares of the company's stock worth $118,197,000 after acquiring an additional 346,362 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 230.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 477,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,819,000 after acquiring an additional 333,095 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 593,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,539,000 after purchasing an additional 258,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,290,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,203,000 after purchasing an additional 191,568 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cardinal Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Cardinal Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $144.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Cardinal Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Cardinal Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.87.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

NYSE CAH traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $126.96. 2,354,573 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,342,976. The firm has a market cap of $30.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.63. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.17 and a 52-week high of $132.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.88.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

Cardinal Health 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.