Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Position Cut by Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,406 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,547 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $3,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CAH shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up previously from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.43.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE CAH traded down $1.30 on Friday, hitting $160.87. 1,314,182 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,240,077. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $157.67 and a 200 day moving average of $138.75. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.17 and a twelve month high of $168.44. The company has a market capitalization of $38.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.68.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. The company 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 68.84% and a net margin of 0.70%. The business's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is 31.83%.

About Cardinal Health

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.