AE Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,173 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,173 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 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 in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $222.10 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.70. The company has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 44.69, a PEG ratio of 1.74 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. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LH. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.50.

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).