Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,892 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 830 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth $32,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,450. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on 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. 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $228.63 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. The company has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $239.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.41.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

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.