Blue Trust Inc. Sells 892 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 901 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 892 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $73,928,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter worth about $45,567,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 928,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $188,908,000 after purchasing an additional 196,119 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %

LH opened at $228.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $239.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $222.60 and its 200 day moving average is $212.39. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,946,306. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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.