Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,191 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,105 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $6,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.1% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,802,799 shares of the company's stock worth $1,246,751,000 after purchasing an additional 457,777 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 9.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,186,052 shares of the company's stock worth $350,748,000 after buying an additional 511,826 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 0.5% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,396,988 shares of the company's stock worth $406,560,000 after buying an additional 28,250 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,594,184 shares of the company's stock worth $353,155,000 after buying an additional 161,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 82.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,128,009 shares of the company's stock worth $358,390,000 after buying an additional 1,862,291 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus upgraded Cardinal Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Cardinal Health from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $110.93. 1,253,258 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,366,213. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $108.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.60. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.21 and a 12 month high of $116.04. The firm has a market cap of $26.98 billion, a PE ratio of 43.78, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $57.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.02 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 0.30%. The company's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5006 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.74%.

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.