Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP Sells 1,312 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the period. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LH. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 532.2% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,530,675 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $360,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288,574 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,755 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $257,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,776 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,236,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,836.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 806,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $162,243,000 after acquiring an additional 786,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total value of $7,451,828.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,812.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.4 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $205.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $174.20 and a twelve month high of $234.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $215.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.65.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.14 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).