GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Buys New Shares in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $704,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAH. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,859,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $691,145,000 after buying an additional 109,273 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,182,514 shares of the company's stock worth $376,396,000 after purchasing an additional 140,368 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 154.6% in 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,037,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $359,286,000 after buying an additional 422,755 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,321,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $274,599,000 after buying an additional 94,768 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cardinal Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Argus set a $148.00 price target on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

NYSE CAH traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $153.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,231,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,225,048. The stock has a market cap of $36.74 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $156.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $140.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.83.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.20. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. The firm had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.5107 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Cardinal Health's payout ratio 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.