Stifel Financial Corp Grows Stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 156,655 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,716 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $17,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 46,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,563,000 after buying an additional 3,617 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 9.8% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 3.7% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 24,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 899.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH opened at $121.61 on Tuesday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a one year low of $93.17 and a one year high of $126.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $116.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.90.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.56%. The firm had revenue of $52.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAH shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.58.

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.