Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 830 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,892 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 830 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,616,000 after buying an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter worth about $45,567,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $228.63 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $239.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.41.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 54.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.54.

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.