abrdn plc Acquires 19,557 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 30.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 84,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,557 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $19,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $207.94 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.80. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $174.20 and a 12-month high of $234.09. The firm has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.53, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $1,102,735.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $1,102,735.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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).