Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Takes $1.21 Million Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 11,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,207,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 84,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,301,000 after purchasing an additional 7,174 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cardinal Health by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 37,173 shares of the company's stock worth $3,227,000 after buying an additional 2,024 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Cardinal Health by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 255,118 shares of the company's stock worth $22,149,000 after buying an additional 9,277 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cardinal Health by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 99,296 shares of the company's stock worth $8,621,000 after buying an additional 11,451 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Cardinal Health by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 764 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CAH. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $128.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.79.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 2.3 %

Cardinal Health stock traded down $2.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,280,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,284,416. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.90 and a 52 week high of $116.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $108.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.21. The stock has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a PE ratio of 43.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.13. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 54.74% and a net margin of 0.25%. The firm had revenue of $54.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $56.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

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.