National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,802 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.06% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $10,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $34,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total transaction of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,985 shares of company stock worth $12,302,964 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the topic of a number of research reports. TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $201.61 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.57, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 28th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

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).