GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 374 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 50.3% during the first quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 308 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $227.97. The company had a trading volume of 259,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 721,622. The company has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a PE ratio of 46.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $205.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 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 Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).