Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Decreases Holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its stake in Cardinal Health by 75.8%, selling 41,587 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 13,267 shares valued at $1.81 million.
• Cardinal Health's stock increased by 0.6% to $157.33, and analysts project earnings of $7.95 per share for the current year, following a recent earnings report that beat expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5107 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous quarter’s dividend, with an annualized yield of 1.30%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 75.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,267 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,587 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $1,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 106.7% during the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 248 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 113.4% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Cardinal Health stock traded up $1.30 on Friday, hitting $156.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 689,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,372,853. The company has a market capitalization of $37.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.68. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.05 and a 52-week high of $168.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.48.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.5107 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is currently 31.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.