Banyan Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Banyan Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,925 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America comprises 4.6% of Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $7,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $264,396,000 after buying an additional 33,493 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,069,000 after buying an additional 14,708 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after buying an additional 17,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1,715.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 175,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,814,000 after acquiring an additional 165,528 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 Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.82.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $224.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.19, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $222.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.55. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $238.46.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).