Synovus Financial Corp Cuts Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Synovus Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 2.0 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $226.31 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 43.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.10.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LH. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 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. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.