Freedom Investment Management Inc. Decreases Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,074 shares of the company’s stock after selling 772 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $1,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAH. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter valued at about $70,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth about $1,293,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 22.0% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 12,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 650.4% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 5,925 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.1 %

CAH stock opened at $122.59 on Thursday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.17 and a 12-month high of $126.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.60.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $52.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.73 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Argus lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

Cardinal Health 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.