StockNews.com Upgrades Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CAH. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $125.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.18.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $110.06 on Friday. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $90.19 and a 1 year high of $116.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.69 and its 200 day moving average is $104.07. The company has a market cap of $26.81 billion, a PE ratio of 48.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.60.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.10. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.37% and a negative return on equity of 54.85%. The company had revenue of $59.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. Cardinal Health’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.506 per share. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is presently 89.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cardinal Health news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.39, for a total transaction of $1,812,920.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,310,467.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Cardinal Health news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 46,455 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.39, for a total value of $1,812,920.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,310,467.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,963 shares of company stock worth $12,379,980 over the last three months. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAH. Tobam grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 773.4% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 49,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,496,000 after purchasing an additional 43,488 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Cardinal Health by 101.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 321,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,010,000 after purchasing an additional 161,656 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 314,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,160,000 after purchasing an additional 15,663 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter valued at $371,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 393,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,016,000 after buying an additional 6,752 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.