FORA Capital LLC Has $1.35 Million Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

FORA Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,060 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,548 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $473,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 187,286 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $40,259,000 after acquiring an additional 22,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 8,218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.4 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $242.18 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $226.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.78. The company has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total value of $239,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,251.40. This trade represents a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LH. HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.