Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $7.09 Million Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,860 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 715 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $7,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 23,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,269,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,720 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,450,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 30,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,919,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 570,187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $129,598,000 after acquiring an additional 21,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE LH opened at $218.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $223.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.61 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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).