Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by Anchor Investment Management LLC

Anchor Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 66.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,521 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in 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 valued at $327,616,000 after acquiring an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% during 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 period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth $73,928,000. Finally, Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,140,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,133,000 after purchasing an additional 279,628 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $215.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $224.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a PE ratio of 43.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,312,450. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

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).