Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) CAO Sells $498,360.87 in Stock

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total transaction of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $201.32 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.80. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $174.20 and a 12-month high of $234.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a PE ratio of 40.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LH. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).