Townsquare Capital LLC Sells 430 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Townsquare Capital LLC lessened its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 138.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,863 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after acquiring an additional 8,638 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 127.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,659 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 50.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 88.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 260 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 62,805 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,788,000 after purchasing an additional 16,349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $240.69 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.