Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH)

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 6,884 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 27% compared to the average volume of 5,405 put options.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $136.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,236,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,100,110. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $93.17 and a 1-year high of $139.81.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 687.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 134,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,961,000 after acquiring an additional 117,803 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at $560,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter worth about $9,576,000. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV grew its stake in Cardinal Health by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 4,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price 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 shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.