First City Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

First City Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 69.8% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 1.3 %

Cardinal Health stock traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $119.56. 743,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,101,826. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.24. The firm has a market cap of $28.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.61. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.17 and a 1-year high of $126.23.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 56.56% and a net margin of 0.56%. The firm had revenue of $52.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. Cardinal Health’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 39.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.50.

Cardinal Health 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.