Cooke & Bieler LP Sells 17,371 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Cooke & Bieler LP decreased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 672,345 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 17,371 shares during the quarter. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for approximately 1.3% of Cooke & Bieler LP's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Cooke & Bieler LP owned approximately 0.79% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $152,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,652 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 10,527 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,393,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,163 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 308 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH traded up $2.03 on Friday, hitting $201.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 768,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,179. The company has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a PE ratio of 43.14, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $174.20 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $213.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.79.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is 61.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 value of $57,513.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet lowered 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 Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.50.

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).