Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,780,000 shares, a decline of 6.8% from the September 15th total of 8,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Cardinal Health

In related news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 26,716 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total value 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Cardinal Health news, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 16,573 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 75,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,310,467.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 26,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 244,091 shares in the company, valued at $26,574,187.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,963 shares of company stock valued at $12,379,980. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Paragon Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 5.0% during the first quarter. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.2% in the second quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 5.1% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.5% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 20,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:CAH traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $112.10. 834,514 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,507. The company has a market capitalization of $27.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.60. Cardinal Health has a 12 month low of $90.19 and a 12 month high of $116.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.95.

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

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.506 dividend. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAH. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.