Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,649 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 418 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $4,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 532.2% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,530,675 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $360,441,000 after buying an additional 1,288,574 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,236,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 5,366.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 725,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $170,780,000 after acquiring an additional 711,977 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 809,242 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $190,180,000 after purchasing an additional 234,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,317,815 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,319,000 after purchasing an additional 218,161 shares in the last quarter. 89.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on LH shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $247.41 to $231.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.75.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:LH opened at $206.58 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $216.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $166.93 and a 12-month high of $222.33. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The medical research company reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.47 by ($0.05). Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 14.62%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 8th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 7th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 31.07%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.57, for a total transaction of $1,057,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,231,731.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.57, for a total transaction of $1,057,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,231,731.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $50,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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 and Labcorp Drug Development.