New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,574 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 10,668 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.18% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $34,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Investment Advisors raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 4.6 %

NYSE:LH opened at $198.35 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $212.06 and a 200 day moving average of $214.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.47, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $1,407,387.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,272.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $1,407,387.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,272.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $1,102,735.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LH shares. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

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).