Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 417 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 308 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on LH shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.79.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $2.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $236.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,194,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,207. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $205.23 and its 200 day moving average is $210.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 47.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $238.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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).