Resonant Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Resonant Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LH. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,354 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 6.0% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,509 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,091,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 64,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,645,000 after purchasing an additional 5,105 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 23,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of LH opened at $201.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a PE ratio of 43.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $213.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.60.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast 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 company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 target price on the stock. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.50.

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).