Westpac Banking Corp decreased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH – Get Rating) by 51.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,613 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 10,244 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.3% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,436,397 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,342,288,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,859,128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,863,118,000 after acquiring an additional 106,063 shares in the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.0% in the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,217,674 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $249,392,000 after acquiring an additional 12,157 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 852,919 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $174,686,000 after acquiring an additional 16,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.9% in the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 714,847 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $188,477,000 after acquiring an additional 26,935 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $315.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $265.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $304.00 to $288.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $277.25.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 173 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total transaction of $43,924.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,341 shares in the company, valued at $1,356,079.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Paul R. Kirchgraber sold 8,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.58, for a total transaction of $2,004,640.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,069 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,510.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 173 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.90, for a total value of $43,924.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,341 shares in the company, valued at $1,356,079.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,598 shares of company stock worth $3,058,283 over the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH stock opened at $226.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57 and a beta of 1.04. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $200.32 and a 1 year high of $263.13. The stock's fifty day moving average is $229.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 15.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.96 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 17th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company, which engages in the provision of vital information to help health professionals make clear and confident decisions. It operates through the Drug Development and Diagnostics segments. The Drug Development segment consists of lead optimization, preclinical safety assessment, analytical services, clinical trials, central laboratories, biomarkers, and companion diagnostics, market access, and technology solutions.

Further Reading

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