Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Increases Stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 25.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,792 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,199 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $2,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $246,748,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 154.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,151,736 shares of the company's stock worth $372,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913,892 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,963,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 17,589.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 964,941 shares of the company's stock worth $132,940,000 after purchasing an additional 959,486 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,811,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAH shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Mizuho upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Cardinal Health from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.07.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of Cardinal Health stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $158.75. 1,066,978 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,401,836. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.05 and a 12-month high of $168.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.89.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 68.84% and a net margin of 0.70%. The firm had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The business's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.5107 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.83%.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

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.