Qsemble Capital Management LP Buys New Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LH. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 99.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 13.7% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 10.4% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 47,384 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $242.18 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $247.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.84, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by 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.