Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. Cuts Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. decreased its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of LH stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $229.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 615,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,448. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.41, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $247.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $234.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.81.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LH shares. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.62.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.