Thematics Asset Management Purchases 1,634 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Thematics Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares during the quarter. Thematics Asset Management’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $5,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $2.77 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $237.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,896. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $247.99. The company has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $226.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,251.40. This trade represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,189 shares of company stock valued at $1,976,256 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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.