KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Sells 70,600 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lowered its position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 39.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,798 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,600 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $15,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAH. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Cardinal Health by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 231,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,353,000 after purchasing an additional 14,623 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 2,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the company's stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CAH traded up $0.41 on Thursday, hitting $158.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,935,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,838,047. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.05 and a 1-year high of $168.44. The stock has a market cap of $37.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $159.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.27.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 0.70% and a negative return on equity of 68.84%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.5107 per share. This is a boost from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAH. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.07.

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.