Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $21.59 Million Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,595 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $21,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $246.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.05. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $223.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.03. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,190,936 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.