Sei Investments Co. Purchases 36,720 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,476 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,720 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.20% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $34,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.0% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,598 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth approximately $239,000. Banyan Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 8.4% during the second quarter. Banyan Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,228,000. Finally, Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC now owns 8,256 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.42.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $224.75 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $223.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a PE ratio of 45.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’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 transaction, 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. Insiders sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 in the last quarter. 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).