Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Stock Position Increased by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 594,507 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 8,313 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.71% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $132,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after buying an additional 230,708 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total value of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,251.40. The trade was a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $234.96 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $229.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.90. The company has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.45, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05. 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 Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. Research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on LH. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of 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. Five investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.