Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases Shares of 4,711 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,711 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,053,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $275.00 price objective (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $232.01. 318,493 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 660,595. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 44.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.97. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend 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 is presently 55.71%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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.