Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 471,746 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,765 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.56% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $96,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,045,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $352,563,000 after purchasing an additional 597,571 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Finally, Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,140,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,133,000 after purchasing an additional 279,628 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.1 %

LH opened at $227.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.46. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $238.46. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.82.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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).