Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys New Holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. $CAH

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co. initiated a Cardinal Health position of 55,400 shares worth approximately $13.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.17% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish: 16 rate the stock a Buy and three a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $266.56. Several firms recently raised their targets to between $250 and $280.
• Cardinal Health reported adjusted quarterly EPS of $2.91, beating estimates by $0.49, while revenue rose 5.8% year over year. However, substantial insider selling and the possible impact of a one-time tariff refund present risks to the stock’s outlook.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 55,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,161,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the second quarter worth $308,640,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 18,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,733,000 after purchasing an additional 9,120 shares in the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $7,182,000. Byrne Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter worth about $1,574,000. Finally, Belleair Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth about $1,100,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $258.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Cardinal Health from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $266.56.

Insider Activity at Cardinal Health

In other news, insider Michelle D. Greene sold 11,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.72, for a total value of $2,746,138.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,330 shares in the company, valued at $2,434,987.60. This trade represents a 53.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Deborah Weitzman sold 7,354 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.45, for a total value of $1,731,499.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,341,790.45. This trade represents a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 210,271 shares of company stock worth $49,626,657. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cardinal Health News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Cardinal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $276 price target, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. RBC cited Cardinal Health’s higher-margin services as a potential earnings-growth driver. RBC initiates coverage of Cardinal Health
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly constructive, with 16 analysts rating CAH a Buy and three assigning a Hold rating. The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of approximately $266.56. Zacks also identified Cardinal Health as a potentially attractive long-term value stock. Zacks value-stock analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Cardinal Health’s latest quarter delivered adjusted earnings per share of $2.91, well above the $2.42 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 5.8% year over year. Fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $12.40–$12.60 supports the longer-term earnings case.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5158 per share, equivalent to $2.06 annually and a yield of about 0.9%. The payout offers modest income support but is unlikely to be a major near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Several executives sold sizable holdings around $235–$237 per share. CEO Jason Hollar sold 124,529 shares worth about $29.4 million, while other executive and insider sales—including those by Deborah Weitzman, Stephen Mason, Michelle Greene, Jessica Mayer and Mary Scherer—totaled roughly $20 million more. The concentrated selling and substantial reductions in insider ownership may encourage profit-taking concerns after CAH’s strong advance. Cardinal Health insider sales
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may also question the durability of the latest earnings beat because part of the improvement reportedly reflected a one-time tariff refund, potentially limiting the stock’s upside if recurring earnings growth does not match expectations. Cardinal Health earnings analysis

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of CAH opened at $229.48 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $232.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $217.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.74, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.49. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.87 and a 52 week high of $258.30.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $63.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.15 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 98.53%. Cardinal Health's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 12.54 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5158 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is currently 28.49%.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company's core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.

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