Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $1.56 Million Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,684 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,012,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 33,493 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,069,000 after purchasing an additional 14,708 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 17,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1,715.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 175,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,814,000 after purchasing an additional 165,528 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $222.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 44.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $238.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $222.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.54.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

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).