Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Shares Purchased by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 255,464 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,696 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.11% of Cardinal Health worth $35,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 5,740 shares of the company's stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,520 shares of the company's stock worth $3,871,000 after buying an additional 8,471 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 144.6% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 10,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,501 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,311,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Cardinal Health stock traded down $1.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $153.61. 245,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,211,361. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $143.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.57. The company has a market capitalization of $36.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.17 and a 52-week high of $157.82.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. The company had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 issued a dividend of $0.5107 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.50.

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.