Smith Group Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 88.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 4,435 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,979,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 41,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,106,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariadne Wealth Management LP bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the second quarter worth about $86,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.2 %

CAH stock opened at $127.53 on Thursday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.17 and a 52 week high of $131.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.75. The company has a market cap of $30.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.63.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.90 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 39.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAH. Mizuho started coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.21.

About Cardinal Health

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.