Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 823,212 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 29,803 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.98% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $167,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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 note on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned 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 at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LH 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. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $238.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $222.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.30%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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).