Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Decreases Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,302 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,312 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.05% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $9,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,354 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,097,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,509 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,091,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 77.0% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 56,461 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $11,351,000 after buying an additional 24,558 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,243 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,101,000 after buying an additional 6,186 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $222.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. 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. Finally, TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $205.73. The stock had a trading volume of 717,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,768. 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 current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 44.05, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average is $215.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.65.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is currently 61.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total value of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at $732,881.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).