Quantinno Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,978,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,197,000 after purchasing an additional 29,046 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after purchasing an additional 230,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,519,000 after purchasing an additional 33,497 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $639,251.40. This trade represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $232.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $230.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.19. The company has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.71%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.