Insider Selling: Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Director Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $241,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,592. The trade was a 11.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $1.30 on Wednesday, hitting $239.27. 9,368 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 664,019. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its 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 return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $27,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LH. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler upped 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 research report on Monday, October 28th. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Five research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.