Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 248 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 248 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. State Street Corp boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,726,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,827,000 after buying an additional 25,469 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,978,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,197,000 after buying an additional 29,046 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,964,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $437,561,000 after purchasing an additional 13,298 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after acquiring an additional 263,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after acquiring an additional 924,881 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $232.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $247.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $230.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LH. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.67.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.