Financial Counselors Inc. Acquires Shares of 57,555 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 57,555 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,862,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $354,528,000 after purchasing an additional 230,708 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LH. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $242.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 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 $247.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $227.32 and a 200 day moving average of $217.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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.