Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% in the first 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 buying an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $473,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 18.9% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 150,046 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,802,000 after acquiring an additional 23,860 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 13.8% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 187,286 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,259,000 after purchasing an additional 22,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 35.4% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 8,218 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $238.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 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 $247.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $224.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.10.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.