Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stock Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 12.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 136,701 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,191 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $13,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its position in Cardinal Health by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 49,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,541 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the second quarter worth approximately $2,091,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 7.6% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 35,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Cardinal Health by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 47,571.4% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,953,000 after buying an additional 29,970 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CAH stock opened at $111.81 on Friday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.82 and a fifty-two week high of $116.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.12. The stock has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.60.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.10. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.37% and a negative return on equity of 54.85%. The company had revenue of $59.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.506 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 89.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Argus boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.39, for a total value of $1,812,920.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,971 shares in the company, valued at $8,310,467.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.39, for a total transaction of $1,812,920.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 75,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,310,467.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 26,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $2,908,570.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 244,091 shares in the company, valued at $26,574,187.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,963 shares of company stock valued at $12,379,980. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.