BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $28.33 Million Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,777 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 65,035 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.15% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $28,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,012,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth $473,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 13.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 187,286 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $40,259,000 after purchasing an additional 22,759 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 35.4% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,435 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 8,218 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of LH traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $241.16. 293,494 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,682. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $247.99. The company has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a PE ratio of 46.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.21.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total value 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 approximately $639,251.40. This trade represents a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.92.

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.