Peter J. Wilkinson Sells 1,384 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Stock

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 1,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.71, for a total transaction of $291,622.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $439,751.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $211.40. 268,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 758,988. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $203.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $222.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The medical research company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 4.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 13.58 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 Tuesday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 8th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 7th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on LH shares. StockNews.com began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. HSBC initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $257.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, September 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.67.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,151 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Boyar Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.2% in the second quarter. Boyar Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,756 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,845,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.9% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 89.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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 and Labcorp Drug Development.