Hartford Investment Management Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,248 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,069,000 after purchasing an additional 14,708 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 17,156 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 141.3% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,580 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,462,000 after buying an additional 17,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $473,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $228.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.26. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $239.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued 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 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on LH. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.54.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.