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

abrdn plc boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,557 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned 0.10% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $19,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $500,033,000 after purchasing an additional 424,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,755 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $444,821,000 after purchasing an additional 483,878 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $257,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,129,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $227,138,000 after buying an additional 126,602 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $207.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $174.20 and a 52-week high of $234.09. The firm has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $212.54 and its 200-day moving average is $214.80.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on LH shares. Argus upgraded shares of 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 note on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective on the stock. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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).