Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Grows Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1,962.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 990 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $396,771,000 after buying an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,519,000 after acquiring an additional 33,497 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 928,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $188,908,000 after purchasing an additional 196,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 749,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $152,596,000 after purchasing an additional 14,277 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LH. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $234.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.85.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America 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 value of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $214.13 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $238.46. The stock has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a PE ratio of 43.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.02.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. 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%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.