Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 17.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 291,923 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 42,999 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.35% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $65,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $235.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $224.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 13,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,190,936. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on LH shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.92.

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.