Cardinal Health, Inc. $CAH Shares Acquired by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Key Points

• Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its Cardinal Health stake by 88.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 28,193 shares valued at approximately $5.96 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.17% of the company.
• Cardinal Health reported quarterly EPS of $3.17, exceeding the $2.79 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 11% year over year to $60.94 billion. Analysts expect $10.77 in full-year EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5158 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.06 dividend and a 0.9% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $251.73.

Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 88.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,193 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,211 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $5,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 198.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 14,034 shares during the last quarter. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $227.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $53.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.20. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.75 and a 1-year high of $243.21.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.38. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.62% and a negative return on equity of 92.61%. The company had revenue of $60.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. Cardinal Health's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.5158 per share. This is an increase from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is 31.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. William Blair assumed coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Cardinal Health from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Cardinal Health from $256.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.73.

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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