Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $146.43.

CAH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cardinal Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,859,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $691,145,000 after acquiring an additional 109,273 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,175,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,983 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,182,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,396,000 after purchasing an additional 140,368 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 154.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,151,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913,892 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 3.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,143,003 shares of the company's stock worth $433,012,000 after buying an additional 105,154 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.7%

CAH traded up $1.07 on Tuesday, hitting $155.06. 678,210 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,221,011. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.05. Cardinal Health has a twelve month low of $93.17 and a twelve month high of $156.44. The company has a market cap of $37.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is currently 31.83%.

Cardinal Health Company 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.