M&G Plc Decreases Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

M&G PLC lessened its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 97.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,547 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 190,067 shares during the period. M&G PLC's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,298 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,303 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 185.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,453 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 2,893 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,072,000 after buying an additional 17,156 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,771 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Five 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $3.34 on Friday, hitting $242.39. The stock had a trading volume of 854,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,964. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $223.02 and a 200 day moving average of $214.30. 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 Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $243.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.88, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,273.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,000 shares of company stock worth $4,043,950 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

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.