Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Shares Gap Down to $108.19

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $108.19, but opened at $103.85. Cardinal Health shares last traded at $101.78, with a volume of 2,369,935 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CAH shares. Argus upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet downgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $25.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $109.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.60.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.30% and a negative return on equity of 57.44%. The business had revenue of $57.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.5006 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 78.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $258,499,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,128,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,390,000 after buying an additional 1,862,291 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 118.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,516,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,816,000 after acquiring an additional 823,520 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $464,800,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 1,941.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 458,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,183,000 after buying an additional 435,722 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.