Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Buys 21,793 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 276.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,667 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,793 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $2,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 16,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 5.0% during the first quarter. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Cardinal Health by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total value of $1,905,566.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,529 shares in the company, valued at $10,065,447.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Michelle D. Greene sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.85, for a total transaction of $435,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,242 shares in the company, valued at $2,094,491.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total value of $1,905,566.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,529 shares in the company, valued at $10,065,447.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,963 shares of company stock worth $12,379,980 in the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE CAH traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,808,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,113,432. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $101.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.61. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a one year low of $85.82 and a one year high of $116.04.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $59.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.74 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.25% and a negative return on equity of 54.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.506 per share. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 89.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAH shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Argus lowered their target price on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.45.

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.