Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Shares Acquired by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 118.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,516,035 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 823,520 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $152,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth about $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.0 %

CAH stock traded down $0.05 on Tuesday, reaching $102.78. 581,032 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,251,857. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $109.58 and a 200-day moving average of $104.50. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.56 and a twelve month high of $116.04. The firm has a market cap of $25.00 billion, a PE ratio of 40.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.68.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $57.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.02 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 0.30%. Cardinal Health’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.5006 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Barclays started coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $117.00 target price for the company. TheStreet cut Cardinal Health from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.