RWA Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 525 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $500,033,000 after acquiring an additional 424,684 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,755 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $444,821,000 after acquiring an additional 483,878 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $257,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,129,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $227,138,000 after acquiring an additional 126,602 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $863,727.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $207.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $212.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.53, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TheStreet downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).