Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,738 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LH. Insight Inv LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% during the second quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the first quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.1% in the first quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE LH opened at $214.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $222.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $234.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.85.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.