Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Cardinal Health by 46.2% during Q1, now owning 19,473 shares valued at approximately $2.68 million.
• Cardinal Health's latest quarterly earnings surpassed analysts' expectations, reporting $2.35 per share, while revenue was slightly lower than expected at $54.88 billion.
• The company declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.5107 per share, yielding 1.30%, reflecting a change from the previous dividend of $0.51.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 46.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,473 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,713 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $2,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CAH. Bank of America upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $136.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Friday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.07.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Cardinal Health stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,592,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,874. The company has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $159.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.48. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.05 and a 12-month high of $168.44.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 68.84% and a net margin of 0.70%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.5107 per share. This is an increase from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.