Traders Purchase High Volume of Cardinal Health Call Options (NYSE:CAH)

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 11,036 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 379% compared to the typical volume of 2,306 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAH shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $101.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 69.8% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH opened at $118.27 on Thursday. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $126.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $118.52 and its 200 day moving average is $110.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.61.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health 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 given a $0.5056 dividend. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.30%.

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.