Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Purchases 263,105 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 16.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares during the quarter. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for approximately 0.6% of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $416,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,069,000 after acquiring an additional 14,708 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 17,156 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 141.3% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,580 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 17,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $473,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on LH shares. UBS Group boosted 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $234.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.85.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:LH traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $215.77. 354,097 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 658,739. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $222.76 and its 200-day moving average is $212.00. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $238.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.56 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, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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.

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.