Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Boosts Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 63.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 526 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,116 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,635 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price target on the stock. SVB Leerink started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $107,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $207.94 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $174.20 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The firm has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $212.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.80. 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 (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors 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 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.67%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).