Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Raises Dividend to $0.51 Per Share

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 5th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of 0.5107 per share on Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This is a 1.0% increase from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51.

Cardinal Health has raised its dividend by an average of 1.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 28 years. Cardinal Health has a dividend payout ratio of 22.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Cardinal Health to earn $8.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.02 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.6%.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 3.7 %

CAH traded down $5.62 on Thursday, reaching $147.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,549,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,549,055. The company has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. Cardinal Health has a fifty-two week low of $93.17 and a fifty-two week high of $154.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.81.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. The firm had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. Cardinal Health's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Argus set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.43.

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.