SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 46,230 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 33.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,542 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,230 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.08% of Cardinal Health worth $25,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAH. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $153.43.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 4.5%

CAH traded up $6.90 during trading on Thursday, hitting $160.43. 2,968,015 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,225,422. The business's 50 day moving average is $145.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.35. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.17 and a fifty-two week high of $161.07. The stock has a market cap of $38.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. The firm had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The business's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.5107 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.