Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $250.00 to $280.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Cardinal Health traded as high as $258.72 and last traded at $257.1660, with a volume of 96,282 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $257.55.

CAH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays increased their price target on Cardinal Health from $258.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $276.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Cardinal Health from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $215.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.38.

Insider Activity at Cardinal Health

In other news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.74, for a total transaction of $18,859,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 235,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,430,017.68. This represents a 25.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen M. Mason sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.40, for a total transaction of $8,274,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 18,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,269,620.40. This represents a 65.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 210,271 shares of company stock valued at $49,626,657 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the second quarter valued at about $308,640,000. First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the second quarter worth $20,050,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,177,000. Stack Financial Management Inc acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $24,681,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 52.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,172,000 after acquiring an additional 11,740 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 0.0%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $235.21 and a 200 day moving average of $222.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.50.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.49. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 98.53%. The business had revenue of $63.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Cardinal Health’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 12.55 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.5158 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 28.49%.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc is a healthcare services and products company that supports the distribution and delivery of pharmaceuticals, medical products and related services. The company serves hospitals, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices and other healthcare providers.

Its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment distributes branded, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, as well as consumer health products, to pharmacies and healthcare institutions.