Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lessened its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,169 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,159 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 14,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,407,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

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

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $3.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $208.60. The company had a trading volume of 119,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 747,373. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.31. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $234.09. The company has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.04.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).