Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,508 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 3,708 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $327,616,000 after acquiring an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $396,771,000 after buying an additional 395,197 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $416,893,000 after buying an additional 263,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $354,528,000 after buying an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
LH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased 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. Barclays raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.75.
Read Our Latest Research Report on LH
Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 2.1 %
Shares of LH traded down $5.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $229.53. The stock had a trading volume of 573,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 662,937. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.82. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. The firm has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 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.
Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. Laboratory Co. of America's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.
Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date 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 Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $241,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,858,592. This represents a 11.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, 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
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Laboratory Co. of America, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Laboratory Co. of America wasn't on the list.
While Laboratory Co. of America currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Market downturns give many investors pause, and for good reason. Wondering how to offset this risk? Click the link below to learn more about using beta to protect yourself.
Get This Free Report
