JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 167,137 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $431,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 96,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 92,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,768,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after acquiring an additional 6,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of LH opened at $230.43 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $247.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.68.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.62.

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.