Trust Co. of Vermont Reduces Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Trust Co. of Vermont cut its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 45.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,551 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,113 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $352,563,000 after purchasing an additional 597,571 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,928,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth approximately $45,567,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $234.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.85.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of LH opened at $215.77 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $238.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

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.