Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $41.27 Million Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 25.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 202,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 69,931 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.24% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $41,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $264,396,000 after buying an additional 33,493 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,069,000 after buying an additional 14,708 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 17,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1,715.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 175,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,814,000 after acquiring an additional 165,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.1 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $222.22 on Friday. The firm 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $238.46.

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 during 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.30%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of 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 increased 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. 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 research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays raised their price target on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 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 in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).