Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 285,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,390 shares during the period. Cardinal Health comprises about 1.6% of Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. owned about 0.12% of Cardinal Health worth $33,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth $246,748,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 154.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,151,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,756,000 after buying an additional 1,913,892 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 1,142.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 545,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,494,000 after buying an additional 501,421 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,115,000. Finally, Renaissance Group LLC increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 4,375.6% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 265,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,347,000 after acquiring an additional 259,122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research 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, Cardinal Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

CAH opened at $131.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $31.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $139.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.47.

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

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

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.