National Pension Service Buys 2,404 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 159,040 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,404 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.19% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $35,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $396,771,000 after buying an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $416,893,000 after acquiring an additional 263,105 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,567,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,043,950. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LH shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $4.72 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $239.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 718,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,647. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.41, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $240.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.85.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released 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 analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

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.