Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) CEO Sells $1,506,835.83 in Stock

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $235.21 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $224.18 and its 200 day moving average is $215.41. The stock has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.50, a PEG ratio of 2.03 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.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $3.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid 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 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,078 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $138,718,000 after purchasing an additional 65,356 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 976.9% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 280 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,842 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,680,000 after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,053,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LH. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price 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. Barclays raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

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.