About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health supplies pharmaceuticals and medical devices to health care providers and clinical laboratories throughout the United States and Canada including physicians’ offices, hospitals and ambulatory care centers.  Cardinal Health is divided into two business lines: the Pharmaceutical Segment and the Medical Segment.  The Pharmaceutical segment provides site-specific deliveries to health care providers and health care facilities.  The Medical segment manufactures high volume disposable products such as gloves, scrubs, gowns, etc.  The Medical segment also delivers medical and surgical products to health care facilities, and also conducts surgical kitting operations where multiple products are assembled into a single disposable surgical kit for the health care provider.  Cardinal Health has over 30,000 employees worldwide.

The company is a member of the S&P 500 index and a Fortune 25 company.  The stock trades under the ticker symbol CAH.

Cardinal Health’s Dividend and Stock Split History

Cardinal Health has an outstanding record of dividend growth, having doubled the dividend payout in the last 5 years.

CAH is relatively new to the S&P Dividend Aristocrats, having met the requirement of 25 years of dividend increases in 2009. Most recently, in 2014 they raised their quarterly dividend by 11.4%, from 30.75 to 34.25 cents. The annualized dividend rose from the previous rate of $1.23 in 2013 to the current rate of $1.37.  I expect the company to announce its the next dividend increase in the 2^nd quarter of 2015.  CAH first paid a dividend in 1983.

CAH has an outstanding record of increasing their dividends over time. From 1997 – 2014, their annualized dividend has increased by at least 10% each year with one exception (a 4.3% increase from 2003 – 2004).  CAH increased their dividends at an annualized rate of 14.87% since 2009 and 27.19% since 2004.

CAH has conducted six stock splits.  3-for-2 splits were announced in December 1996, October 1998 and April 2001 while 5-for-4 splits were announced in September 1989, September 1991 and June 1994.  A single share purchased prior to June 1994 (and which paid a fraction of a penny at the time) would have become 6.59 shares that paid a total of $7.79 in dividends in 2013.

Direct Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plans

CAH does not have either a direct stock purchase or a dividend reinvestment plan.  The easiest way for individual investors to purchase the stock is through their stock broker, and most brokers can automatically reinvest dividends with either no fee or, at most, a minimal fee.

Helpful Links

Cardinal Health Investor Relations Website

Current quote and financial summary for Cardinal Health (finviz.com)