Everett Harris & Co. CA Raises Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 38.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,703 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $4,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,354 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,097,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.0% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,509 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,091,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 77.0% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 56,461 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,351,000 after buying an additional 24,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LH shares. SVB Leerink started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Barclays started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 target price on the stock. TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. 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, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.50.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,775 shares of company stock valued at $8,823,080 over the last quarter. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $218.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.78, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $219.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.08. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $174.20 and a 52-week high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.77 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.67%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).