Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $133.01 and last traded at $132.62, with a volume of 199689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CAH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $144.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus set a $148.00 price target on Cardinal Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.36.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $127.35 and its 200-day moving average is $120.00.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.5056 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAH. State Street Corp raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,177,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,913,000 after purchasing an additional 627,253 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,859,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $691,145,000 after purchasing an additional 109,273 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,182,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,396,000 after buying an additional 140,368 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 154.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,151,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,756,000 after buying an additional 1,913,892 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Cardinal Health by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,037,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,286,000 after buying an additional 422,755 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is 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.