Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Increases Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,508 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,708 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $473,000. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $955,000. Marietta Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,540 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,977,000 after purchasing an additional 6,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,316,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %

LH stock opened at $234.52 on Wednesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.36, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.57.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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.