Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Stock Holdings Decreased by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,325 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,049 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.12% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $21,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after buying an additional 395,197 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after acquiring an additional 263,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 928,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $188,908,000 after acquiring an additional 196,119 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.1 %

LH opened at $238.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 46.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $226.67 and its 200-day moving average is $217.61. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LH. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.