Cardinal Health, Inc. $CAH Shares Purchased by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its Cardinal Health stake by 30.3% in the first quarter, adding 221,376 shares to own 952,686 shares valued at approximately $201.3 million.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with 15 Buy ratings and three Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $251.73.
• Cardinal Health reported quarterly EPS of $3.17, beating estimates of $2.79, while revenue rose 11% year over year to $60.94 billion; it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5158 per share.

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 30.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 952,686 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 221,376 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.41% of Cardinal Health worth $201,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAH. HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 1.2% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,242 shares of the company's stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 2.6% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 513 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CAH shares. William Blair began coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cardinal Health from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore reduced their price target on Cardinal Health from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Cardinal Health from $243.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cardinal Health currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.73.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of CAH opened at $229.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $53.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.49. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.75 and a 12 month high of $243.21. The stock's 50 day moving average is $221.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.01.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $60.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.10 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.62% and a negative return on equity of 92.61%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 10.77 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.5158 per share. This is a boost from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is currently 31.50%.

About Cardinal Health

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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