SVB Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 886 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 886 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,189,000 after buying an additional 1,123,755 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $257,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,776 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,836.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 806,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $162,243,000 after buying an additional 786,477 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $444,821,000 after buying an additional 483,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 536.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 540,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $108,653,000 after buying an additional 455,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective on the stock. SVB Leerink began 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. Argus upgraded 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, March 25th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued 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. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total value of $7,451,828.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $207.92 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $212.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.85. The stock has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.52, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $174.20 and a 1-year high of $234.09.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.67%.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).