Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Shares Acquired by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 72.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,994 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,996 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $2,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Q3 Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 1st quarter valued at $439,000. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 6,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 331,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,705,000 after acquiring an additional 7,072 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new position in Cardinal Health during the 1st quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Cardinal Health by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the company's stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 2,459 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.07.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Cardinal Health stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $159.54. 823,670 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,418,803. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $158.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.68. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.29 and a 1 year high of $168.44.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 68.84% and a net margin of 0.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This is a boost from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is 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.