Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 15,956 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 315,817 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,956 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Cardinal Health worth $43,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 767 shares of the company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. CSS LLC IL lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock worth $1,323,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 4,399 shares of the company's stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 2,183 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $136.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $181.00 target price on shares of Cardinal Health and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.43.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:CAH traded down $2.31 on Thursday, hitting $161.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,223,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,242,849. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $157.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.16. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.17 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $54.88 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5107 per share. This is a boost from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is 31.83%.

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.