Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Lowers Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC cut its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,098 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 734 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 20,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,152,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.8% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,267 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 6.1% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 9,867 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,984,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 21.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 136,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,439,000 after acquiring an additional 24,239 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 57,244 shares of company stock valued at $12,360,478. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $201.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $174.20 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $210.12 and a 200-day moving average of $214.70.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 57.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LH. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.14.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).