Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $119.58 and last traded at $119.00, with a volume of 647916 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $115.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAH shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 2.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $29.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.53.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.90 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 56.56% and a net margin of 0.56%. Cardinal Health’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total transaction of $1,905,566.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,065,447.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Michelle D. Greene sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.85, for a total transaction of $435,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,094,491.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total transaction of $1,905,566.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,065,447.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,963 shares of company stock valued at $12,379,980. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 69.8% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 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.