Czech National Bank Buys 1,040 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth $32,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on 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. 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH stock opened at $216.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. Analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,450. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.