Auxier Asset Management Makes New Investment in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Auxier Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 955 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth about $27,000. SouthState Corp bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:LH opened at $242.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a PE ratio of 46.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $227.32 and a 200 day moving average of $217.95. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $247.99.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.