Equitable Trust Co. Acquires 3,468 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,787 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for 1.3% of Equitable Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Equitable Trust Co. owned approximately 0.10% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $19,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $3.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $242.39. 854,652 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 644,964. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $243.78. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $223.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.30. The company has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LH. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,000 shares of company stock worth $4,043,950 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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.