Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Makes New Investment in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,212 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 749,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $152,596,000 after purchasing an additional 14,277 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 13,044 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,655,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,096 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Athena Investment Management boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 10,355 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,108,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.82.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $221.13 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.51 and its 200 day moving average is $211.21. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 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).