Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Reaches New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $119.13 and last traded at $115.78, with a volume of 924603 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $108.52.

The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.90 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.37% and a negative return on equity of 54.85%. Cardinal Health’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 EPS.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.506 per share. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAH. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Cardinal Health from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $125.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cardinal Health

In other news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 75,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,310,467.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Cardinal Health news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.39, for a total transaction of $1,812,920.47. Following the sale, the insider now owns 75,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,310,467.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Aaron E. Alt sold 2,323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.91, for a total value of $252,997.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 36,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,184.97. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,963 shares of company stock worth $12,379,980 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the second quarter worth $27,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the third quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60.

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.