Insider Selling: Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) EVP Sells 12,093 Shares of Stock

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $226.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $208.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 45.57, a PEG ratio of 1.76 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 company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.15.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after buying an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $352,563,000 after purchasing an additional 597,571 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,616,000 after acquiring an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,519,000 after buying an additional 33,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $291,045,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).