Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lowered its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 29.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,892 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,198 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $264,396,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1,715.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 175,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,814,000 after purchasing an additional 165,528 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 63,639 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,465,000 after acquiring an additional 4,103 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,418,000. Finally, Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $942,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.9 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $200.99. 134,288 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 736,829. The company has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $234.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $202.15 and a 200-day moving average of $212.61.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $51,032.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,260,364.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $51,032.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,260,364.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,939 shares of company stock worth $1,021,078. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.86.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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).