Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New $2.56 Million Investment in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 11,447 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,558,000. Laboratory Co. of America makes up approximately 0.6% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $473,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 13.8% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 187,286 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $40,259,000 after buying an additional 22,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 35.4% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 8,218 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $238.73 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $226.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.61. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99. The firm has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.18, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given 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 (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $639,251.40. The trade was a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.