Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,662 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,974 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $15,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 16.4% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,288,000 after buying an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Cardinal Health by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the company's stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the 1st quarter worth about $130,000. Vestor Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 110.7% during the first quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 178,390 shares of the company's stock worth $24,577,000 after purchasing an additional 93,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Efficient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the first quarter worth about $892,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAH. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reiterated 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. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.07.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

CAH traded up $1.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $156.52. 689,902 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,372,853. The company has a market cap of $37.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.68. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a one year low of $96.05 and a one year high of $168.44. The company's fifty day moving average price is $159.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.48.

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. The company had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 68.84% and a net margin of 0.70%. Cardinal Health's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.