3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,478 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,318,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 buying an additional 33,493 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,069,000 after buying an additional 14,708 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 17,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,418,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $223.48 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $238.46. 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 $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $223.73 and a 200 day moving average of $211.73.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,450. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).