QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,540 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,205 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $11,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in 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. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,559 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LH. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at $426,436.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,985 shares of company stock valued at $12,302,964. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $207.67. 722,931 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 838,174. The stock has a market cap of $17.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $208.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $174.20 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 57.95%.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).