Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Short Interest Update

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,590,000 shares, an increase of 42.9% from the August 15th total of 6,710,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total value of $1,905,566.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 94,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,065,447.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 17,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.48, for a total value of $1,905,566.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,065,447.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 26,716 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $2,908,570.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 have sold 113,963 shares of company stock worth $12,379,980. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the second quarter worth $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 4,466.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE CAH traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $113.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 66,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,100,372. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $103.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.60. Cardinal Health has a one year low of $85.82 and a one year high of $116.05.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $59.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.506 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Cardinal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.36.

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.