Sasco Capital Inc. CT Sells 14,810 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sasco Capital Inc. CT decreased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,490 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 14,810 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America makes up about 2.8% of Sasco Capital Inc. CT's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sasco Capital Inc. CT owned about 0.10% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $18,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LH. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 38,915 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,697,000 after acquiring an additional 3,433 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $835,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $461,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 124.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,165 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 5,637 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $2.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $236.17. 584,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 673,731. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $224.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a PE ratio of 45.47, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released 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 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.92.

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.