Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,823 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LH. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 308 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $51,032.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,260,364.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total transaction of $421,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,448.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 Up 0.7 %

Shares of LH opened at $204.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a PE ratio of 41.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $202.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.61. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. Analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LH. 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 research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays dropped 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 research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of 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. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. 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, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $241.86.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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).