Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,708 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $5,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 106.7% during 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. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.5%

CAH traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $161.28. 2,722,179 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,227,825. The company has a market cap of $38.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a one year low of $93.17 and a one year high of $162.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.35.

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

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This is an increase from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.43.

Cardinal Health 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.