KBC Group NV Has $21.19 Million Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

KBC Group NV decreased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,808 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,154 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.11% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $21,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insight Inv LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% during the second quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SP Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,096 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company's 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 owns 13,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % 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, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 87,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,189 shares of company stock worth $2,190,936. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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 upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI decreased 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 research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.2 %

LH traded down $2.97 on Friday, hitting $235.21. 2,051,433 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 674,322. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $224.40 and its 200-day moving average is $215.63. The company has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 55.71%.

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.