Norges Bank Takes Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,280,499 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,045,000. Norges Bank owned 1.51% of Laboratory Co. of America at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 308 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $205.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $234.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.02.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total transaction of $421,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total transaction of $421,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,744 shares of company stock valued at $5,111,382. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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 (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).