J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 7,947 Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,947 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,095,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 5.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 315,817 shares of the company's stock worth $43,510,000 after acquiring an additional 15,956 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 17.2% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 25.8% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 569.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 395 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CAH shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.07.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Cardinal Health stock traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $157.10. 1,212,904 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,399,948. The company's fifty day moving average is $159.37 and its 200-day moving average is $141.27. The firm has a market cap of $37.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.68. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.05 and a 52 week high of $168.44.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.70% and a negative return on equity of 68.84%. The company had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.5107 per share. This is a boost from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.