UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 49,203 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 914,019 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 49,203 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 1.09% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $204,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,978,686 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $442,197,000 after buying an additional 29,046 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during 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 buying an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $354,528,000 after buying an additional 230,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $288,519,000 after buying an additional 33,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.4 %

LH stock traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $241.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 293,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,803. 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 company has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a PE ratio of 46.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $227.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.21.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.