Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Reduces Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH – Get Rating) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,636 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 87.5% in the third quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 63.0% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 176 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Paul R. Kirchgraber sold 8,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.58, for a total value of $2,004,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,272,510.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Paul R. Kirchgraber sold 8,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.58, for a total value of $2,004,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,272,510.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark S. Schroeder sold 309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.63, for a total value of $76,517.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,655,901.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,701 shares of company stock valued at $2,178,302 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $222.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $245.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.10. The stock has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $200.32 and a 1 year high of $281.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The medical research company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.08. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 17.68% and a net margin of 8.60%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 17.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 23rd were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $315.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $290.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $304.00 to $288.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.50.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company, which engages in the provision of vital information to help health professionals make clear and confident decisions. It operates through the Drug Development and Diagnostics segments. The Drug Development segment consists of lead optimization, preclinical safety assessment, analytical services, clinical trials, central laboratories, biomarkers, and companion diagnostics, market access, and technology solutions.