HM Payson & Co. Reduces Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

HM Payson & Co. trimmed its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 72.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,903 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 10,164 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $291,045,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,140,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $259,133,000 after purchasing an additional 279,628 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2,750.2% in the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 270,483 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $61,478,000 after purchasing an additional 260,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at $45,567,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LH. Barclays upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.85.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE LH traded up $2.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $236.00. 1,194,681 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,207. The company has a 50 day moving average of $205.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46. The firm has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.49, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

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).