B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 414 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $686,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $264,396,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1,715.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 175,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,814,000 after purchasing an additional 165,528 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 63,639 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,465,000 after acquiring an additional 4,103 shares during the period. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $942,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 64,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,645,000 after acquiring an additional 5,105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of LH opened at $205.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $201.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.30, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total value of $50,025.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,145,972.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total transaction of $50,025.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,145,972.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 3,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.74, for a total transaction of $770,077.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,655,243.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,469 shares of company stock valued at $3,959,058 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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).