Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,064 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,044 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LH. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 20,467 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,574,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,572 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $12,862,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 914,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $204,265,000 after buying an additional 49,203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $240.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 46.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.