Smithfield Trust Co Invests $104,000 in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 467 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Insight Inv LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on LH shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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 report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $240.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a PE ratio of 46.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $225.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.66. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $247.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

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.