Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Invests $30,000 in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 135 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,159 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 14,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,407,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,415,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the first quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.85.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of LH traded up $2.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $236.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,194,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,207. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).