Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 68.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,804 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,230,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $215,893,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 75.4% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,548,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525,324 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 677.5% during the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,350,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,066 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Cardinal Health by 19,124.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 991,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,810,000 after purchasing an additional 986,801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cardinal Health

In other Cardinal Health news, CEO Deborah Weitzman sold 6,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.81, for a total transaction of $602,804.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 44,202 shares in the company, valued at $3,969,781.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

CAH opened at $105.26 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 172.56, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.76. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.53 and a fifty-two week high of $105.81.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $54.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.85 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 60.27% and a net margin of 0.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.5006 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 327.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet upgraded Cardinal Health from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 14th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $100.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.83.

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.