300 Shares in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Acquired by Disciplined Equity Management Inc.

Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 300 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $500,033,000 after purchasing an additional 424,684 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in 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. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 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 period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,108,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,129,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $227,138,000 after acquiring an additional 126,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. TheStreet downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE LH traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $207.94. 793,521 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 739,542. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.53, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.01. 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 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $212.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.80.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.67%.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $1,102,735.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 $1,100,114.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Corporate insiders own 0.85% 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 (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).