Arizona State Retirement System Has $4.70 Million Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,103 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $4,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the first 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.5 %

LH stock opened at $223.91 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $218.74 and its 200-day moving average is $211.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 45.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.06.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, 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 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LH shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. UBS Group raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.82.

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).