Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Purchased by Boston Research & Management Inc.

Boston Research & Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,684 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $5,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LH. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 27.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 168,476 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,286,000 after purchasing an additional 36,720 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.0% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,598 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $239,000. Banyan Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Banyan Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,228,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $222.22 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $238.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.71, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial increased their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.27.

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).