Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $276.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.38.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of CAH opened at $246.52 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $236.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.59. Cardinal Health has a 52-week low of $161.64 and a 52-week high of $259.21.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $63.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Cardinal Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.600 EPS. Analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.5158 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jessica Mayer sold 29,436 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.19, for a total value of $6,952,488.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 33,076 shares in the company, valued at $7,812,220.44. This trade represents a 47.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Deborah Weitzman sold 7,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.45, for a total value of $1,731,499.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,341,790.45. This represents a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 210,271 shares of company stock valued at $49,626,657 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the second quarter worth about $308,640,000. First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $20,050,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,177,000. Saudi Central Bank increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 87.8% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 16,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,913,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stack Financial Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,681,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc is a healthcare services and products company that supports the distribution and delivery of pharmaceuticals, medical products and related services. The company serves hospitals, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices and other healthcare providers.

Its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment distributes branded, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, as well as consumer health products, to pharmacies and healthcare institutions.