World Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 26,646 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $5,955,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 6.0% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,491,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $473,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,955 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,823,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.9% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 50,795 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE LH traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $231.98. 100,322 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 659,664. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. 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 capitalization of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.93, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.97.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 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 issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.