Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CAH. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 53.6% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 8,935 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 37,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the first quarter worth $212,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 6.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 11,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 6.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 472,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,792,000 after buying an additional 28,568 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

CAH opened at $106.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.68. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.56 and a fifty-two week high of $116.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.46 and a 200 day moving average of $104.02.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $57.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.02 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 0.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.5006 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. TheStreet downgraded Cardinal Health from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $117.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Argus raised Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.