Centiva Capital LP Buys Shares of 6,562 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,466,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% during the second quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Athena Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $240.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 46.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05. 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’s fifty day moving average is $228.41 and its 200-day moving average is $218.65. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LH shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

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.