IFS Advisors LLC Makes New $143,000 Investment in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,000. Cardinal Health comprises 0.1% of IFS Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,871,000 after purchasing an additional 8,471 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 8,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,552 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 180,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JSF Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter worth $967,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAH. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Argus set a $148.00 price target on Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.50.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE CAH opened at $155.53 on Wednesday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.17 and a 52 week high of $157.82. The company has a market cap of $37.12 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.79.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. The company had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Cardinal Health’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.83%.

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.