Cardinal Health Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CAH)

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 7,328 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 55% compared to the average volume of 4,730 put options.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 4,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 2,320.0% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 63,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,516,000 after purchasing an additional 60,923 shares during the last quarter. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $594,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,175,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 46,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,442,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $126.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.28 and a 200-day moving average of $118.57. Cardinal Health has a 12 month low of $93.17 and a 12 month high of $132.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.63.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. On average, research analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus set a $148.00 price objective on Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America upgraded Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.36.

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.