Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $126.24 and last traded at $126.02, with a volume of 399121 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $124.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAH. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $139.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Cardinal Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.29.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $30.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.50.

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

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.5056 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.30%.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,749,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $633,298,000 after purchasing an additional 42,082 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,474,625 shares of the company's stock worth $162,976,000 after buying an additional 33,388 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the third quarter worth about $371,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at about $1,691,000. Finally, National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $903,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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