Garrison Asset Management LLC Has $3.01 Million Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Garrison Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 159 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America makes up approximately 1.5% of Garrison Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Garrison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 159,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the period. Cohen Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,896 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,329,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,050,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period. White Pine Investment CO lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. White Pine Investment CO now owns 19,078 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,264,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,312,450. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,450. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,586 shares of company stock valued at $4,175,800. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE LH traded up $1.28 on Monday, reaching $228.38. 16,368 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 665,327. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $239.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $222.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.32. The company has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.93, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.05.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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.