Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Increases Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Custom Index Systems LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723 shares in the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% in the third quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 7,260 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,151 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,583,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 14.6% during the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 3,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 10.2% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH stock traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $230.27. 21,514 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 665,797. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $239.50. 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 company has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 46.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $222.60 and a 200 day moving average of $212.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business 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 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.54.

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.