New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,046 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 10,400 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.19% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $34,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $22,069,000 after acquiring an additional 14,708 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 17,156 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 141.3% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,580 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 17,323 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at $473,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,946,306 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE LH traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $227.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 641,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,985. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $222.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.32. The company has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $239.50.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Truist Financial upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.92.

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.