Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,745,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 446,792 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $2,215,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $264,396,000 after acquiring an additional 33,493 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1,715.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 175,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,814,000 after acquiring an additional 165,528 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 63,639 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,465,000 after acquiring an additional 4,103 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $942,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 64,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,645,000 after purchasing an additional 5,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $1,407,387.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,272.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 3,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.74, for a total value of $770,077.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,655,243.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $1,407,387.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,272.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,469 shares of company stock valued at $3,959,058. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.86.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $201.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $189.68 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $201.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).