Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Position Increased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $4,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.62.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE LH opened at $227.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 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 $247.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $232.13 and a 200-day moving average of $221.71.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were 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 was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.71%.

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.