Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Increases Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,284 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $222.22 on Friday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.54.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders 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 1.30%. 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 Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,312,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on LH shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.27.

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).