Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,667 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after acquiring an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $276,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 149,191 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,135,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concentric Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the third quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,904 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,448,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $240.69 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99. The company has a market cap of $20.13 billion, a PE ratio of 46.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

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.