Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) CMO Amy B. Summy Sells 3,672 Shares

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $2.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $238.08. The company had a trading volume of 205,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 669,373. The stock has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.39. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 92,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,768,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,651 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,955,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 13,456 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,225,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 25,597 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

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.