R Squared Ltd Makes New Investment in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 4.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,177,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,566,913,000 after acquiring an additional 627,253 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,749,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,298,000 after purchasing an additional 42,082 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,290,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,203,000 after purchasing an additional 191,568 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,474,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,976,000 after purchasing an additional 33,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 47.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,069,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,197,000 after buying an additional 346,362 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Cardinal Health from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.21.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of Cardinal Health stock opened at $128.32 on Friday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a one year low of $93.17 and a one year high of $132.84. The company has a market cap of $31.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.85.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.56%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is 39.30%.

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.