LMR Partners LLP Buys New Holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 48,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,747,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 8.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 707,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,183,000 after acquiring an additional 53,851 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 9,125 shares of the company's stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Cardinal Health by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,828 shares of the company's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CAH. UBS Group increased 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. Mizuho upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of CAH traded up $2.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $154.23. 2,804,902 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,228,743. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $136.49 and a 200 day moving average of $127.35. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a one year low of $93.17 and a one year high of $154.69.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last released 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. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. The company had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. 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%.

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.