Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Has $9.92 Million Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lessened its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,724 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned approximately 0.06% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $9,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foresight Global Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,114,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,519,000 after purchasing an additional 33,497 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 380,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $77,358,000 after purchasing an additional 49,411 shares during the period. Garrison Asset Management LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 13,605 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,769,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $224.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.19, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $222.42 and a 200-day moving average of $211.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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).