Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Stock Has Average Price Target of $266.56

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $266.56.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $276.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $251.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho increased their price target on Cardinal Health from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $258.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were 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 owned 235,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,430,017.68. This trade represents a 25.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 29,436 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.19, for a total transaction of $6,952,488.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,812,220.44. The trade was a 47.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 210,271 shares of company stock valued at $49,626,657. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,293,115,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 247.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,860,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,530,206,000 after purchasing an additional 10,584,119 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the second quarter worth $689,066,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,698,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,478,000 after purchasing an additional 414,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $438,870,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $237.33 on Friday. Cardinal Health has a 52-week low of $151.87 and a 52-week high of $258.30. The company has a market capitalization of $54.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.97.

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

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.5158 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 28.49%.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc is a healthcare services and products company that supports pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physician offices and other healthcare providers. Its operations are primarily organized into Pharmaceutical and Medical segments.

The Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded, generic, specialty and over-the-counter medicines, as well as consumer health products. It also provides services related to specialty pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical sourcing, nuclear and precision health products, and data and analytics for pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare organizations.

The Medical segment distributes medical and surgical products, including gloves, apparel, incontinence supplies, laboratory products and other essential items.