Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Bought by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,808 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Mariner LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.0% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 401.6% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,551 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 7,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 126,859 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,505,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.86.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at $426,436.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at $426,436.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,021,078. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $203.13 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.87. The company has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.87, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).