Intrust Bank NA Grows Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Intrust Bank NA raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,778 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position 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 worth $500,033,000 after buying an additional 424,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,123,755 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $444,821,000 after purchasing an additional 483,878 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $257,522,000 after buying an additional 1,108,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in 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 worth $227,138,000 after buying an additional 126,602 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $760,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $863,727.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total value of $7,451,828.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $760,515.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $863,727.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LH. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $2.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $201.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 40,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,769. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $211.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.90. 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 market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.85 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 28th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

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).