Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Has $27.41 Million Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 39.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 120,595 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 33,974 shares during the quarter. Laboratory Co. of America makes up about 1.5% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $27,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LH. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,354 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,509 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $1,091,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 77.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 56,461 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,351,000 after purchasing an additional 24,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,186 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $760,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,727.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.9 %

LH stock traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $204.59. 281,428 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 732,351. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $216.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a PE ratio of 44.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 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 down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.67%.

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).