Empirical Finance LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,005 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.9% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,587,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 73,321 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,922,000 after purchasing an additional 18,820 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 15.9% in the second quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 280,163 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,016,000 after buying an additional 38,414 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,450. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, 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 transaction 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

LH opened at $229.89 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a PE ratio of 46.26, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LH shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.42.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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).