Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,177 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $500,033,000 after buying an additional 424,684 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% in 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 period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 483,878 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% in the third 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 period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,129,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $227,138,000 after purchasing an additional 126,602 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $863,727.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LH. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $207.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $174.20 and a 52-week high of $234.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $212.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.80.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.14 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).