Cardinal Health Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CAH)

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 7,495 call options on the company. This is an increase of 74% compared to the typical volume of 4,303 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 153.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,804,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,010,000 after buying an additional 3,511,579 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter worth $584,420,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,175,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193,983 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 141.4% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,926,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 4,935.9% during the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 946,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,434,000 after acquiring an additional 927,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAH. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $183.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price target on Cardinal Health and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays started coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $243.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.00.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH opened at $198.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $183.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.63. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $114.60 and a 52 week high of $214.93.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.33. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 84.37% and a net margin of 0.68%.The company had revenue of $64.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.650-9.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.5107 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Cardinal Health Company 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.