Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $154.32 and last traded at $154.23, with a volume of 2785568 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $151.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAH has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $137.09 and its 200-day moving average is $127.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.5107 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Cardinal Health by 11.2% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in Cardinal Health by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cardinal Health by 1.4% during the first quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 6,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. CSS LLC IL raised its position in Cardinal Health by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Cardinal Health by 4.2% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 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.