Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,233 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after buying an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $276,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 149,191 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,135,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Concentric Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the third quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,904 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,448,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $241.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 46.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $247.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.16. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on LH. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of 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 dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America 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.