M&G Plc Trims Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

M&G Plc lessened its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 190,067 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Insight Inv LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% in the second quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SP Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,096 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH opened at $242.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $243.78. The stock has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a PE ratio of 46.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $223.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,000 shares of company stock worth $4,043,950 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.