Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Health comprises about 0.5% of Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $743,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,499,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 19.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,723,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,585,000 after acquiring an additional 598,002 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the first quarter worth about $56,454,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 265.6% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 657,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,577,000 after purchasing an additional 477,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 1,941.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 458,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,183,000 after purchasing an additional 435,722 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cardinal Health

In other news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total transaction of $1,905,566.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 94,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,065,447.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total transaction of $1,905,566.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,065,447.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 26,716 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $2,908,570.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 244,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,574,187.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,963 shares of company stock worth $12,379,980. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CAH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $114.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.36.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CAH opened at $113.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.60 billion, a PE ratio of 50.30, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $103.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.11. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.82 and a 52-week high of $116.05.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $59.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.74 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.37% and a negative return on equity of 54.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.506 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 89.78%.

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.