F M Investments LLC Invests $269,000 in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,755 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $257,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,776 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,836.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 806,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $162,243,000 after purchasing an additional 786,477 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 483,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 536.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 540,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $108,653,000 after purchasing an additional 455,462 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 2.4 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $4.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $207.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 925,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 738,850. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $212.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.85. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Finally, SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

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).