Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,163 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the second 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. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth about $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $354,528,000 after buying an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $229.15 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $234.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.81. The company has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.32, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued 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 was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.62.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

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

Laboratory Co. of America 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.