PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 811 Shares of Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,421 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 811 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Corp. of America were worth $4,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Hexavest Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Corp. of America by 2.1% during the first quarter. Hexavest Inc. now owns 159,447 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Portformulas Corp purchased a new stake in Laboratory Corp. of America in the 1st quarter worth $956,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Corp. of America by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 23,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Corp. of America by 36.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 635,728 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $80,349,000 after purchasing an additional 171,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank OZK increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Corp. of America by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank OZK now owns 3,230 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. 90.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

In related news, EVP Judith C. Seltz bought 250 shares of Laboratory Corp. of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $174.94 per share, with a total value of $43,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,735. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judith C. Seltz purchased 330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $168.56 per share, with a total value of $55,624.80. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,140. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LH shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Laboratory Corp. of America from $209.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Laboratory Corp. of America in a research report on Friday, February 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp lowered shares of Laboratory Corp. of America from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho raised shares of Laboratory Corp. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $158.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Corp. of America from $147.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.56.

LH stock opened at $170.16 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 52.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.37. Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $98.02 and a 12 month high of $196.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Laboratory Corp. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. Laboratory Corp. of America had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 15.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings will post 9 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Corp. of America Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as an independent clinical laboratory company worldwide. It operates in two segments, LabCorp Diagnostics (LCD) and Covance Drug Development. It offers various clinical laboratory tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid tests, Pap tests, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D products, prostate-specific antigens, tests for sexually-transmitted diseases, hepatitis C tests, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.

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