Planned Solutions Inc. Purchases Shares of 336 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 336 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $1,711,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,091,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 77.0% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 56,461 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,351,000 after acquiring an additional 24,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,186 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the business’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 transaction of $49,588.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the 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 $49,588.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,775 shares of company stock worth $8,823,080. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $216.57 on Thursday. 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 $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $174.20 and a twelve month high of $234.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.06.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.67%.

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).