Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 901 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 892 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,012,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,069,000 after acquiring an additional 14,708 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 17,156 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 141.3% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,580 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,462,000 after acquiring an additional 17,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE LH opened at $228.63 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $239.50.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.54.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.