Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Stock Position Cut by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,748 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 637 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $11,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,859,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,863,118,000 after acquiring an additional 106,063 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $500,033,000 after acquiring an additional 424,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,755 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $444,821,000 after acquiring an additional 483,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843,051 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $421,878,000 after acquiring an additional 26,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:LH opened at $201.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $213.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.60. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09. The company has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LH. Barclays began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI began 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 for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).