OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 115.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $238.64 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 46.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.10. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. 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 previous year, the company posted $3.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI reduced 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 research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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, StockNews.com lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.