Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 909.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,174 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,869 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second 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 acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% in the first 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.42.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,450. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,450. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:LH opened at $227.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $218.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.08. 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 market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly 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. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).