Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,352 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 4.9% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 1,284 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Foresight Global Investors Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at $1,114,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,519,000 after buying an additional 33,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 14.9% in the second quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 380,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $77,358,000 after buying an additional 49,411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $222.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 44.71, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $238.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $222.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.54. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lifted 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.27.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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).