KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 180,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,336,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAH. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,177,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,913,000 after purchasing an additional 627,253 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,115,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,069,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,197,000 after purchasing an additional 346,362 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 230.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 477,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,819,000 after purchasing an additional 333,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 593,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,539,000 after purchasing an additional 258,541 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.36.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Cardinal Health stock opened at $131.80 on Friday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.17 and a 52-week high of $133.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $127.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.04. The firm has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.69%.

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.