Blueshift Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 11,447 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,447 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,000. Laboratory Co. of America makes up about 0.6% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 295,354 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $66,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,949 shares during the last quarter. Thematics Asset Management increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 24,775 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth $129,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $596,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $354,528,000 after purchasing an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $238.73 on Wednesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $247.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $226.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $217.61. The company has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.18, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The business's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

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.

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