Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Purchased by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LH. Trust Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. 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. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price target on the stock. 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $208.40 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $174.20 and a 12-month high of $234.09. The company has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 43.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced 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 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 analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio 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).