Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $42.14 Million Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 188,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $42,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. This trade represents a 35.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,189 shares of company stock worth $2,190,936. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $235.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $224.18 and its 200 day moving average is $215.41. 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 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 analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LH. Barclays boosted their price target on 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. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.