Tempus Wealth Planning LLC Purchases 132 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,045,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,755 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $352,563,000 after purchasing an additional 597,571 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 536.0% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 540,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $108,653,000 after purchasing an additional 455,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $500,033,000 after acquiring an additional 424,684 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LH. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.86.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $203.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.76. 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 50 day moving average price of $202.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.49. The firm has a market cap 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total transaction of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total transaction of $50,025.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,145,972.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total transaction of $498,360.87. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at $426,436.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,939 shares of company stock worth $1,021,078. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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).