Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Has $3.54 Million Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC decreased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $234.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.85.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $215.42. 293,223 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 656,938. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a PE ratio of 43.41, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $238.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $222.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.00.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.