Meeder Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Cardinal Health by 50.2%, owning 36,143 shares valued at approximately $4.98 million following the sale of 36,425 shares in the first quarter.
• Cardinal Health has received positive endorsements from analysts, with multiple firms raising their price targets and offering ratings from "buy" to "strong-buy", reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $158.07.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5107, representing an annual yield of 1.31% and a payout ratio of 31.83%.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 50.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,143 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,425 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $4,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in Cardinal Health by 106.7% during the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 248 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in Cardinal Health by 113.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE CAH traded up $1.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $156.32. 844,264 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,374,107. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.48. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.05 and a 12-month high of $168.44. The company has a market capitalization of $37.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.68.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.70% and a negative return on equity of 68.84%. The business's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This is a boost from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.07.

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.