Venturi Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,625 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 185.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,453 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 131,756 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,784,000 after purchasing an additional 11,441 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 18.2% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 415 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.9% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,043,950 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $244.26 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.71. The company has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Laboratory Co. of America 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.