Commerce Bank Has $7.33 Million Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Commerce Bank reduced its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,805 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,801 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $7,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,012,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $473,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 187,286 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $40,259,000 after purchasing an additional 22,759 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 8,218 shares during the period. Finally, Marietta Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,540 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,977,000 after purchasing an additional 6,575 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $240.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a PE ratio of 46.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $225.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.