Prudent Man Advisors LLC Invests $1.41 Million in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Prudent Man Advisors LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,291 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,406,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LH shares. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $3.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $238.64. 627,064 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 674,133. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $224.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.83.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America 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.