Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC Invests $211,000 in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 930 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $500,033,000 after purchasing an additional 424,684 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 483,878 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $257,522,000 after buying an additional 1,108,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,129,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $227,138,000 after purchasing an additional 126,602 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $198.40. 931,285 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 758,681. The company has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $212.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded 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 note on Monday, March 25th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.44.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $1,102,735.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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).