Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Purchased by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 14.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,396 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH stock opened at $236.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $224.96 and a 200-day moving average of $216.34. The company has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.68, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently 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.