Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $216.51 and last traded at $211.57, with a volume of 248300 shares. The stock had previously closed at $210.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $220.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday. Leerink Partners set a $240.00 price target on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $185.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $221.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.73.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.5%

The stock has a market cap of $50.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $206.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.30.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.33. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.68% and a negative return on equity of 84.37%. The business had revenue of $64.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Cardinal Health’s revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.5107 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 1,363.6% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 161 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 198.3% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 14,034 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth $31,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company’s core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.