HB Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

HB Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,271 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roundview Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,055,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 34,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,175,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 105.7% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,654 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 18.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 89,167 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $23,543,000 after purchasing an additional 14,186 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $1,102,735.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $1,102,735.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,775 shares of company stock worth $8,823,080. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $216.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.37, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $234.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.06.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.14 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.67%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).