Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 3,302 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 223.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,778 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,302 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 184,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,649,000 after purchasing an additional 61,933 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 282,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,470,000 after purchasing an additional 38,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Cardinal Health from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Argus upgraded Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of 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, SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.00.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $97.45 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.21. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.90 and a 52 week high of $116.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.31, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $54.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a 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 payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

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.