Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 392,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,892 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.47% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $87,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 buying an additional 3,265 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $473,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 8,218 shares during the period. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $955,000. Finally, Marietta Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,540 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,977,000 after acquiring an additional 6,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $240.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $228.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $20.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.