Swedbank AB Raises Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,089 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.07% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $12,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth $32,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.85.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $215.24 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $238.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $222.98 and its 200 day moving average is $212.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 43.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

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.