First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Increases Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 14,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,407,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,415,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.86.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $426,436.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,021,078. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $203.86 on Friday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.49. The company has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio 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).