Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 482 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Moran Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,838 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 482 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after acquiring an additional 395,197 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 263,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,567,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH opened at $240.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $225.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 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, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

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.