Everence Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 128.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,820 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,710 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $955,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,316,000. Banyan Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Banyan Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,781 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,689,000 after buying an additional 2,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $527,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays boosted 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.62.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $229.15. 478,640 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,220. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $234.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.57. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. 0.85% of the stock is 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.