Smith Group Asset Management LLC Acquires 4,340 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 163.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,000 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,748,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 154.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,151,736 shares of the company's stock worth $372,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913,892 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at $141,963,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Cardinal Health by 17,589.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 964,941 shares of the company's stock worth $132,940,000 after buying an additional 959,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at $92,811,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CAH shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $181.00 price objective on Cardinal Health and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cardinal Health from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $136.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $157.43.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 2.3%

Cardinal Health stock traded down $3.91 on Tuesday, hitting $164.09. 2,785,413 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,238,574. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $168.61. The firm has a market cap of $39.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $153.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.12.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 68.84% and a net margin of 0.70%. The company's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.5107 dividend. This is an increase from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

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.