Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 3,071.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,027 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,301 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $3,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 767 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. CSS LLC IL boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 4,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 2,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $181.00 price objective on Cardinal Health and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.43.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of CAH stock traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $166.61. 699,064 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,240,196. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.17 and a fifty-two week high of $168.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.45. The stock has a market cap of $39.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.68.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 68.84% and a net margin of 0.70%. The business had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.5107 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.