Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP Sells 1,127 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP lessened its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 36.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,127 shares during the quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Investment CO boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. White Pine Investment CO now owns 19,078 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,264,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $894,000. Finally, Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $227.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $239.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.32.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,586 shares of company stock valued at $4,175,800. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.92.

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.