Insider Selling: Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) CAO Sells $498,360.87 in Stock

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total transaction of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.5 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $201.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $210.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.70. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $174.20 and a twelve month high of $234.09. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 57.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 33,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,413,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.7% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 50,511 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,035,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth $4,149,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,482 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on LH shares. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Four 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.14.

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).