Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments lessened its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on LH shares. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total value of $50,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,145,972.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total transaction of $50,025.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,145,972.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,244 shares of company stock worth $12,360,478. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $201.32 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $210.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.87. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $174.20 and a 12-month high of $234.09. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.51, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).