Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Purchased by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 65.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,384 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased 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. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $219.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.46 billion, a PE ratio of 44.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.85. 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 (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

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 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 approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. 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).