Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 6th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.5006 per share on Monday, April 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th.

Cardinal Health has increased its dividend by an average of 1.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 27 years. Cardinal Health has a payout ratio of 25.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Cardinal Health to earn $8.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.9%.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of CAH opened at $111.62 on Wednesday. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $70.57 and a 12-month high of $116.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $108.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.78.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 0.30%. The firm had revenue of $57.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Retirement Group LLC increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 1,539.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 300.4% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CAH shares. SVB Leerink started coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet downgraded Cardinal Health from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $117.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Cardinal Health Company 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.