Brighton Jones LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 83.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,261 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Insight Inv LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% during the second quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 1,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the first quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the first quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $222.22 on Friday. 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 Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46. The stock has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.71, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $222.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.57.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.27.

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).