Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Makes New Investment in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 930 shares of the company's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at $368,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 6,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:CAH traded up $2.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $164.80. 1,234,057 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,246,270. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $155.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.31. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.17 and a 12 month high of $168.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.68.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 68.84% and a net margin of 0.70%. The firm had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 announced 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. This is an increase from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $181.00 price objective on Cardinal Health and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Three research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.43.

Cardinal Health 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.