Equitable Trust Co. Decreases Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Equitable Trust Co. lowered its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 33.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,319 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 42,880 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for approximately 1.2% of Equitable Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Equitable Trust Co. owned approximately 0.10% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $17,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on LH shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE LH traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $229.89. The stock had a trading volume of 488,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,244. The company has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a PE ratio of 46.26, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $216.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.82. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).