Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $3.95 Million Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 14.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,689 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $327,616,000 after buying an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped 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. 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Five equities 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 MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $240.57. 482,449 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 666,830. 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 $228.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.44. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 46.56, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

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.