Fmr LLC Increases Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 230,708 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 1.90% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $354,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $473,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,435 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,397,000 after buying an additional 8,218 shares in the last quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,540 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,977,000 after buying an additional 6,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $955,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $0.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $241.16. 293,494 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 655,803. The company has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a PE ratio of 46.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $227.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.25. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for 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%. Laboratory Co. of America's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

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.