Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 578 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,230 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LH. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,450. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:LH opened at $224.75 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $238.46. The company has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $223.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.54.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 57.95%.

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).