Axa S.A. Purchases 8,633 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Axa S.A. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 523.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,283 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Insight Inv LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% during the second quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% during the second quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the first quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $223.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $223.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.73. 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 quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.97, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on 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. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.50.

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).