Mackenzie Financial Corp Acquires 1,507 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,610 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $4,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,845,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,379 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $201.48 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $174.20 and a 52-week high of $234.09. The stock has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.14, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $213.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.79.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.67%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America 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 value of $7,451,828.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays assumed 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 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. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. 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, March 25th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).