Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 11.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,830 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,576 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $11,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAH. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 8.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 35,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after buying an additional 2,746 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,263,000. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in Cardinal Health by 0.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cardinal Health

In other Cardinal Health news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 46,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.02, for a total transaction of $5,064,524.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 197,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,546,276.72. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michelle D. Greene sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.85, for a total value of $435,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,094,491.70. The trade was a 17.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,351 shares of company stock valued at $7,565,843 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

CAH stock opened at $122.32 on Friday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a one year low of $93.17 and a one year high of $126.14. The firm has a market cap of $29.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.07.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.56%. The company had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. Cardinal Health’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CAH. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Cardinal Health from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.