Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 2,177 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,177 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded 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 report on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,729,398.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at $732,881.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $207.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $212.54 and a 200-day moving average of $214.80. The company has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 61.67%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).