Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CAH. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $114.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus raised their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $125.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.18.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 7.0 %

Cardinal Health stock opened at $116.13 on Friday. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $91.14 and a 52 week high of $119.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.17. The stock has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.60.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.24. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 54.85% and a net margin of 0.37%. The business had revenue of $52.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. Cardinal Health’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.506 dividend. This is a positive change 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 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.38%.

Insider Activity at Cardinal Health

In other Cardinal Health news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 26,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total value of $2,908,570.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 244,091 shares in the company, valued at $26,574,187.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 26,716 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total value of $2,908,570.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 244,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,574,187.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 94,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,065,447.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,963 shares of company stock valued at $12,379,980. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Cardinal Health by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 11,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 1,924 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Cardinal Health by 25.8% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 37,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,000 after acquiring an additional 7,692 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at $12,954,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the third quarter valued at about $507,000. 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.