Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 105,443 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 22.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 577,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 105,443 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.69% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $128,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LH. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:LH opened at $239.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.36, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $226.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.03. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $247.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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 net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued 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 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

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.