Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Stake Lessened by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 39.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 915 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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 increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after acquiring an additional 263,105 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 worth $288,519,000 after acquiring an additional 33,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% during the second 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 during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE LH opened at $228.63 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $239.50.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,946,306. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.