Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 315,817 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,956 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Cardinal Health worth $43,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 106.7% during the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 248 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CAH shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.43.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of CAH traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.71. 485,801 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,237,162. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50-day moving average price is $156.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.98. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $168.44.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 0.70% and a negative return on equity of 68.84%. The business had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5107 per share. This is an increase from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is 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.