Custom Index Systems LLC Purchases 1,723 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Custom Index Systems LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,182 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,616,000 after buying an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after acquiring an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at about $45,567,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on LH shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.54.

Insider Activity 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 that occurred on 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 owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, 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 value of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.6 %

LH traded down $1.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $228.63. 819,212 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,948. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $239.50. 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 (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.