Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 42,999 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 17.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 291,923 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 42,999 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.35% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $65,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 88,443 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,230,000 after buying an additional 15,098 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,493,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.8% during the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 5,539 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,190,936 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $235.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.73. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99. The company has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.50, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America 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.