Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Lowers Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 80.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 64,698 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 88.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 260 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LH shares. Barclays raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.42.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $229.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a PE ratio of 46.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

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).