Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Has $457,000 Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lessened its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,012 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 212 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,354 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,097,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,509 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,091,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 77.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after buying an additional 6,186 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $1,102,735.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,775 shares of company stock worth $8,823,080. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $218.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.08. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $234.09. The firm has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.50.

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).