Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $133.68 and last traded at $132.86, with a volume of 2122562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CAH shares. Mizuho started coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.36.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 2.2 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.59. The company has a market cap of $33.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. On average, research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $3,871,000 after acquiring an additional 8,471 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 240,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,576 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,749,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,298,000 after purchasing an additional 42,082 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 8,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after buying an additional 2,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 180,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,358,000 after buying an additional 3,148 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.