Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,598 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% in the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $220.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of 44.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $223.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.50.

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).