32,995 Shares in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Acquired by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 32,995 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $7,374,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Insight Inv LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% in 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. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% in the third 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. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of LH traded down $2.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $235.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,023,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 674,322. The firm has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business's fifty day moving average is $224.18 and its 200 day moving average is $215.41. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $247.99.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. Laboratory Co. of America'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 company posted $3.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The trade was a 35.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,190,936. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.