Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,861 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $11,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $500,033,000 after buying an additional 424,684 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,189,000 after buying an additional 1,123,755 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $444,821,000 after buying an additional 483,878 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $257,522,000 after buying an additional 1,108,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 12.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,129,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $227,138,000 after buying an additional 126,602 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total transaction of $50,025.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,145,972.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,244 shares of company stock worth $12,360,478 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE LH opened at $201.32 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $174.20 and a 1-year 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $210.12 and a 200-day moving average of $214.87. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LH. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.14.

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).