Earnest Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 26.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 331,390 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 68,347 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $72,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 308 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total transaction of $421,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total value of $50,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,145,972.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total transaction of $421,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,500 shares of company stock valued at $522,718. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE LH traded down $0.15 on Monday, reaching $210.75. The stock had a trading volume of 560,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 712,732. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $234.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $203.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on LH. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $258.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.29.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).