Lathrop Investment Management Corp Acquires 1,033 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Lathrop Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 67,132 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for approximately 2.8% of Lathrop Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Lathrop Investment Management Corp owned about 0.08% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $15,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $240.42 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $225.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.66. The stock has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a PE ratio of 46.50, a PEG ratio of 1.94 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 $247.99. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS 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 issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

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.