Barclays PLC Purchases 827,446 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. $CAH

Key Points

• Barclays PLC increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 109.3%, buying 827,446 shares to hold 1,584,214 shares (0.67% of the company) worth $248,658,000 at quarter-end.
• Cardinal Health beat Q results with $2.63 EPS versus $2.31 expected and revenue of $65.63 billion (up 18.8% year-over-year), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5107 (annualized $2.04, yield 0.9%).
• Analysts have become more positive, leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.67 after several recent upgrades and price-target increases.

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,584,214 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 827,446 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.67% of Cardinal Health worth $248,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $775,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 15.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,030 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,090,000. Atle Fund Management AB increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 13.1% in the third quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 30,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 10.8% in the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 196,163 shares of the company's stock worth $30,790,000 after purchasing an additional 19,155 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Cardinal Health stock opened at $217.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $215.65 and a 200-day moving average of $189.50. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a one year low of $120.72 and a one year high of $233.60.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $65.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.88 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 92.50% and a net margin of 0.68%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.5107 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $195.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup upgraded Cardinal Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $244.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $233.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on Cardinal Health from $250.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $245.67.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company's core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.

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