Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Stake Raised by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,694 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.10% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $18,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,462 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 10,387 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,321,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Lathrop Investment Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% in the third quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Corp now owns 67,132 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $15,003,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 549,386 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $122,777,000 after buying an additional 12,145 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $1.87 on Tuesday, reaching $238.70. 282,729 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 669,859. The business's 50-day moving average is $226.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.39. 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 fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

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.