Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 89,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,792 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $8,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cardinal Health by 86.8% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 69,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,998,000 after purchasing an additional 32,250 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 237.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 171,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,290,000 after acquiring an additional 120,740 shares in the last quarter. Tobam boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 773.4% during the first quarter. Tobam now owns 49,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,496,000 after buying an additional 43,488 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 220,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,243,000 after buying an additional 24,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 101.1% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 321,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,010,000 after buying an additional 161,656 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

NYSE:CAH opened at $113.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.08. The firm has a market cap of $27.60 billion, a PE ratio of 50.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.60. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.82 and a 1-year high of $116.05.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $59.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.74 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.37% and a negative return on equity of 54.85%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 89.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total transaction of $1,905,566.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,065,447.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total transaction of $1,905,566.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,065,447.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michelle D. Greene sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.85, for a total transaction of $435,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,094,491.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,963 shares of company stock valued at $12,379,980. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CAH. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $114.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.36.

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.