Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Acquired by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,063 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $352,563,000 after purchasing an additional 597,571 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $291,045,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $264,396,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,140,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,133,000 after buying an additional 279,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 741,069 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $161,894,000 after acquiring an additional 17,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $223.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 163,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,988. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a PE ratio of 44.55, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on LH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.42.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,312,450. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,312,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).