Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 594,507 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,313 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.71% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $132,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 1.0 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $2.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $232.47. 392,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 663,595. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $247.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.97, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $229.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.90.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LH. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $241,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,592. This trade represents a 11.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.