Leeward Investments LLC MA Sells 15,179 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Leeward Investments LLC MA trimmed its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 58,591 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,179 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $13,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after buying an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after acquiring an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,567,000. 95.94% of the stock is 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 Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,000 shares of company stock worth $4,043,950. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LH shares. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $234.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 45.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $239.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $222.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.85. 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 (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.23%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

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.