Trust Co. of Vermont Has $1 Million Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 46.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $500,033,000 after purchasing an additional 424,684 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,755 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $444,821,000 after purchasing an additional 483,878 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,045,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $264,396,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays reduced 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 research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, SVB Leerink started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.86.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %

LH stock traded down $1.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $198.67. 31,812 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,805. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $202.08 and its 200 day moving average is $213.77. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $189.68 and a twelve month high of $234.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.05.

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. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 3,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.74, for a total value of $770,077.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,655,243.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,469 shares of company stock valued at $3,959,058. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company 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).