Foster & Motley Inc. Purchases 309 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,755 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $257,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,776 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3,836.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 806,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $162,243,000 after buying an additional 786,477 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $444,821,000 after buying an additional 483,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 536.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 540,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $108,653,000 after buying an additional 455,462 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $863,727.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $1,407,387.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,272.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $760,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,727.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:LH opened at $208.40 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $213.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.48, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $174.20 and a 1-year high of $234.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.67%.

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).