Raymond James & Associates Increases Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.15% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $27,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after buying an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,771,000 after acquiring an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at $73,928,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at $45,567,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 928,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $188,908,000 after purchasing an additional 196,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $219.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.54 billion, a PE ratio of 44.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $222.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.14. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $234.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.