Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Buys 205 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 63.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 526 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,755 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $257,522,000 after buying an additional 1,108,776 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,836.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 806,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $162,243,000 after acquiring an additional 786,477 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $444,821,000 after acquiring an additional 483,878 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 536.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 540,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $108,653,000 after acquiring an additional 455,462 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the 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 $1,729,398.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LH shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 target price for the company. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $207.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $212.54 and a 200-day moving average of $214.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.53, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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).