Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 235,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.28% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $53,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LH. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price target for the company. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $760,515.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $863,727.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $1,407,387.33. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,272.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $863,727.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $199.44 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $214.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.58. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $174.20 and a 12-month high of $234.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).