Everence Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 128.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,710 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LH. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1,193.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 207 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 96,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,587,000 after buying an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.4 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $229.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.38. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.62.

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.