Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.36.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CAH traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $111.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,359,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,090,336. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $90.19 and a 1 year high of $116.05. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $110.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.00. The stock has a market cap of $27.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.60.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $59.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.74 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 54.85% and a net margin of 0.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. Analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.506 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This is an increase from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is 89.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cardinal Health news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 46,455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.02, for a total transaction of $5,064,524.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 197,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,546,276.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Cardinal Health news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total value of $1,905,566.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,065,447.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 46,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.02, for a total value of $5,064,524.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 197,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,546,276.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,963 shares of company stock worth $12,379,980. Insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,099,082 shares of the company's stock worth $403,022,000 after acquiring an additional 370,181 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 19.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,723,159 shares of the company's stock worth $416,585,000 after purchasing an additional 598,002 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,730,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,584,000 after purchasing an additional 14,030 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,759,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,974,000 after buying an additional 85,247 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,683,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,517,000 after buying an additional 111,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

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.