Bellevue Group AG Decreases Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Bellevue Group AG lowered its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 97.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,941 shares during the quarter. Bellevue Group AG’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.9% in the first quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 229,132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $50,056,000 after buying an additional 6,409 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,567,000. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.7% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 3,222 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total value of $51,032.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,260,364.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.13, for a total transaction of $51,032.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at $3,260,364.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,448.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,500 shares of company stock valued at $522,718. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $241.29.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH remained flat at $210.90 during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock had a trading volume of 258,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,625. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $203.26 and its 200-day moving average is $210.41. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

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).