Quadrature Capital Ltd Buys Shares of 9,046 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 9,046 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,021,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 3,194 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $93,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 34,593 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,016 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,613 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 2,724 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of LH traded down $2.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $232.57. The company had a trading volume of 392,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,482. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $229.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.17. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

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.