Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Bought by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,317 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Investment Advisors increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 14,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,407,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $426,436.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total transaction of $498,360.87. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,744 shares of company stock valued at $5,111,382. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.7 %

LH opened at $205.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $234.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.82 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).