River Road Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

River Road Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 109,801 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 29,680 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $24,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LH. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $199.44. The company had a trading volume of 768,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 736,675. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $214.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.69. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $174.20 and a 1-year high of $234.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink assumed 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 price objective on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.50.

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).