Cardinal Health Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CAH)

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 6,884 put options on the company. This is an increase of 27% compared to the typical volume of 5,405 put options.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CAH stock opened at $136.43 on Friday. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $93.17 and a 12-month high of $137.18. The firm has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $128.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.80.

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

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.36.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAH. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. CSS LLC IL boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 2,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.