Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Stock Position Boosted by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,669 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,066 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $7,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAH. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,177,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,913,000 after acquiring an additional 627,253 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $45,115,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,069,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,197,000 after purchasing an additional 346,362 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 230.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 477,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,819,000 after buying an additional 333,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 77.3% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 593,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,539,000 after buying an additional 258,541 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Cardinal Health stock opened at $124.25 on Wednesday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $132.84. The company has a market cap of $30.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $125.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.08.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.36.

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.