Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Acquired by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 58.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,108 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,971 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,771,000 after buying an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,519,000 after purchasing an additional 33,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 worth $264,396,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $222.08 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $238.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.61 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 over the last quarter. 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).