Custom Index Systems LLC Increases Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Custom Index Systems LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 10.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,159 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 14,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,407,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the first quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the first quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $223.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $218.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.10. The stock has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.05, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released 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. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LH. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective 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, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.82.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).