Swedbank AB Grows Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 12.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,089 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $12,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $352,563,000 after acquiring an additional 597,571 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,519,000 after purchasing an additional 33,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 928,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $188,908,000 after purchasing an additional 196,119 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’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 value of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LH shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Four 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.85.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $215.24 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $222.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.00. The firm has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.31, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. 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 (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.95%.

Laboratory Co. of America 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.