Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stock Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. by 39.6%, holding 329,251 shares valued at approximately $45.36 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors made notable changes to their positions in Cardinal Health, with Wellington Management Group increasing its holdings by 687.0% during the fourth quarter.
• Cardinal Health’s recent quarterly earnings exceeded estimates with $2.35 earnings per share, and it announced a slight increase in its dividend to $0.5107 per share.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 39.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 329,251 shares of the company's stock after selling 216,062 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.14% of Cardinal Health worth $45,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAH. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 70,191 shares of the company's stock worth $8,277,000 after purchasing an additional 16,845 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Cardinal Health by 687.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 134,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,961,000 after buying an additional 117,803 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at $241,000. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Cardinal Health by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in Cardinal Health by 446.7% during the fourth quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 12,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,537,000 after buying an additional 10,619 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CAH shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cardinal Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.07.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CAH opened at $155.97 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $159.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.83. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.05 and a 52-week high of $168.44. The firm has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.67.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.70% and a negative return on equity of 68.84%. Cardinal Health's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. 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 1.3%. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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