4,378 Shares in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Acquired by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 82.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,128,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862,291 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,340,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,026,000 after purchasing an additional 28,412 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,619,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,052,000 after purchasing an additional 389,431 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,499,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,496,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,749,000 after purchasing an additional 19,287 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Cardinal Health stock opened at $96.39 on Monday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.90 and a 52 week high of $116.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.47. The firm has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a PE ratio of 42.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $54.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.05 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 54.74% and a net margin of 0.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a $0.5056 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This is an increase from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAH has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Cardinal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Argus lowered their price objective on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.57.

Cardinal Health Profile

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.