Custom Index Systems LLC Grows Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Custom Index Systems LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $500,000 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 bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% in the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a 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 price target of $250.82.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of LH opened at $223.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 45.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $218.74 and a 200 day moving average of $211.10. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).