Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $10,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,189 shares of company stock valued at $5,550,786 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH traded up $2.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $246.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 74,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,465. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $247.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $223.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.03. The company has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on LH shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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.