Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,594 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $7,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LH. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth $3,468,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 185.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,453 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after buying an additional 17,156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $239.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.85. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $240.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,000 shares of company stock worth $4,043,950 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted 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 report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America 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.