Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $166.00 to $181.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cardinal Health traded as high as $159.08 and last traded at $158.69, with a volume of 891375 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $153.53.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CAH. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAH. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 122,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Cardinal Health by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 67,519 shares of the company's stock worth $7,985,000 after purchasing an additional 16,125 shares in the last quarter. First Merchants Corp purchased a new position in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $252,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 234,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,727,000 after buying an additional 10,308 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $146.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.69. The company has a market cap of $38.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 31.83%.

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.