Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 54 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,590 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other 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 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. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. This represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $242.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a PE ratio of 46.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.78. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 announced 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. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on 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. Five equities research 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 MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.