Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,339 shares of the company’s stock after selling 133,139 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of Cardinal Health worth $18,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $265,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 231,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,353,000 after purchasing an additional 14,623 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $718,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $21,336,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Cardinal Health by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 22,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,713,000 after buying an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus set a $148.00 price objective on Cardinal Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.36.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Cardinal Health stock opened at $133.91 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $127.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.48. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.17 and a twelve month high of $134.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is 37.69%.

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.