Select Equity Group L.P. Makes New $73.93 Million Investment in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 363,265 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $73,928,000. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 0.43% of Laboratory Co. of America at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,312,450. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,312,450. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.8 %

LH stock traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $222.08. 450,267 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 680,376. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 44.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).