Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $167.47 and last traded at $166.91, with a volume of 296809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CAH shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $181.00 price objective on Cardinal Health and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $136.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.43.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $39.99 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.66. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $151.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.19.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.20. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.70% and a negative return on equity of 68.84%. The business had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The company's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5107 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.51%.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

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

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.

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