National Pension Service Acquires 17,492 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. $CAH

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 477,491 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,492 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $113,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $308,640,000. First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $20,050,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the second quarter worth $1,177,000. Stack Financial Management Inc bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the second quarter worth about $24,681,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,246,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on CAH shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $274.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $276.00 target price for the company. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $215.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.56.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of CAH opened at $235.96 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.63. The firm has a market cap of $54.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.51. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.87 and a 52 week high of $258.30.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.49. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 98.53% and a net margin of 0.67%.The firm had revenue of $63.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.5158 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.49%.

Insider Activity at Cardinal Health

In related news, CEO Stephen Mason sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.40, for a total transaction of $8,274,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 18,061 shares in the company, valued at $4,269,620.40. This represents a 65.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jason Hollar sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.74, for a total value of $18,859,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 235,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,430,017.68. The trade was a 25.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 210,271 shares of company stock worth $49,626,657 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc is a healthcare services and products company that supports the pharmaceutical and medical industries. Its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment distributes branded, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter products and consumer health items to pharmacies, hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers. The segment also provides specialty pharmaceutical services, nuclear and radiopharmaceutical products, and related support for manufacturers and providers.

Through its Global Medical Products and Distribution segment, Cardinal Health manufactures, sources and distributes medical and surgical products, including gloves, gowns, syringes, exam-room supplies and other essential equipment.