Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $53.52 Million Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 235,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $53,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $1,102,735.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,114.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $760,515.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,727.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $1,102,735.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed 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 target on the stock. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH opened at $199.44 on Friday. 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 Holdings has a 1 year low of $174.20 and a 1 year high of $234.09. The stock has a market cap of $16.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $214.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.58.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).