Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,818 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 300,631 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,818 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Cardinal Health worth $29,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in Cardinal Health by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 341,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,388,000 after buying an additional 19,630 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 78,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,942,000 after buying an additional 34,204 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 223.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 3,302 shares during the period. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $441,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. 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 research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.45.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.5 %

CAH opened at $112.72 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $101.14 and its 200-day moving average is $103.61. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.82 and a 1-year high of $116.04. The company has a market cap of $27.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.10, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.61.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $59.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.74 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.37% and a negative return on equity of 54.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 94,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,065,447.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Cardinal Health news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.39, for a total value of $1,812,920.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 75,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,310,467.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 94,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,065,447.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,963 shares of company stock valued at $12,379,980 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Profile

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.