Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Argus raised shares of 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,872.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,872.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 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 transaction of $49,588.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $207.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.52, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $212.94 and a 200 day moving average of $214.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its 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 business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

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 (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).