SVB Wealth LLC Takes Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 886 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LH. CWM LLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,116 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,111,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,635 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $207.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $174.20 and a 1-year high of $234.09. The stock has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $212.94 and its 200 day moving average is $214.85.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Barclays started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.50.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,114.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,114.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).