Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 212 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,012 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 212 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,379 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.50.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,775 shares of company stock valued at $8,823,080 over the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $218.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $219.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a PE ratio of 46.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company’s revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.14 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

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).