Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Stock Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 539,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,248 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.22% of Cardinal Health worth $54,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Cardinal Health by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Cardinal Health by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group raised its position in Cardinal Health by 0.7% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 17,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management raised its position in Cardinal Health by 3.0% in the third quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 4,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Cardinal Health by 1.7% in the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $117.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE CAH traded down $0.60 on Friday, reaching $103.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,399,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,705,735. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a PE ratio of 40.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $109.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.85. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.56 and a 12 month high of $116.04.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.30% and a negative return on equity of 57.44%. The company had revenue of $57.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Cardinal Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.5006 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 78.74%.

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.