Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,306 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 125.4% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 11,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after buying an additional 6,132 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $216.00 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $238.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 43.46, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.05. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $224.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.93.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.33%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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).