Orca Investment Management LLC Purchases 1,419 Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Orca Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,977 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Health accounts for approximately 3.0% of Orca Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Orca Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $3,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,128,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862,291 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 118.9% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,516,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,816,000 after acquiring an additional 823,520 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $464,800,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 64.9% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,027,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,222,000 after purchasing an additional 404,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,619,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,052,000 after acquiring an additional 389,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on CAH shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Argus raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.93.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:CAH traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $102.68. 1,116,986 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,239,806. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.85. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.56 and a fifty-two week high of $116.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.46, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.68.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $57.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.02 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.30% and a negative return on equity of 57.44%. Cardinal Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.5006 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.74%.

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.