Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Shares Sold by First Heartland Consultants Inc.

First Heartland Consultants Inc. cut its position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,729 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,456 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc.’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAH. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 31,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,711,000 after purchasing an additional 5,014 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 27,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the period. Finally, FDx Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 2,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink started coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.57.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Cardinal Health stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.08. 1,307,975 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,247,072. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.90 and a twelve month high of $116.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.41. The firm has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a PE ratio of 44.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.71.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $54.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.05 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 54.74% and a net margin of 0.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.35 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. This is an increase from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 88.89%.

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.