Birch Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)

Birch Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 58.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,716 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,239 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $1,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Berman Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. Berman Capital Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.62% of the company’s stock.

CAH stock traded down $1.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $59.18. The company had a trading volume of 10,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,004,333. The company has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.72, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.65 and a 52 week high of $62.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.36 and a 200 day moving average of $53.35.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 4th. The company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.30. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 123.28%. The firm had revenue of $41.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 1st will be issued a $0.4859 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 31st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

CAH has been the subject of several recent research reports. TheStreet raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Cardinal Health has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.10.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc operates as an integrated healthcare services and products company in the United States and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, and physician offices. The company operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Medical.

Read More: Understanding dividend yield and dividend payout ratio