Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,851 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $6,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 27.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 55,219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,172,000 after buying an additional 11,917 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 10.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 158,188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,558,000 after buying an additional 14,527 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the first quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,609,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $228.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a PE ratio of 44.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $239.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.98.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LH. UBS Group increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

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.