Bleakley Financial Group LLC Has $525,000 Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,310 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $1,102,735.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 over the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of several analyst reports. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. TheStreet downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI started 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 for the company. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $205.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 44.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $215.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.72.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).