Oakworth Capital Inc. Grows Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 308 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $70,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,859,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,863,118,000 after purchasing an additional 106,063 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 valued at $500,033,000 after purchasing an additional 424,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,755 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $444,821,000 after purchasing an additional 483,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843,051 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $421,878,000 after purchasing an additional 26,197 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on LH shares. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective 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 on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price target on the stock. SVB Leerink assumed 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 target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $199.97 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $214.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.69. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $174.20 and a twelve month high of $234.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 42.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,727.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $863,727.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. Company 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).