WESCAP Management Group Inc. Sells 106 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

WESCAP Management Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 106 shares during the period. WESCAP Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,487,106 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $500,033,000 after acquiring an additional 424,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,755 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $444,821,000 after acquiring an additional 483,878 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $257,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,129,759 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $227,138,000 after acquiring an additional 126,602 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on LH shares. 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. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of LH stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $201.32. 555,654 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 854,788. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $174.20 and a 12-month high of $234.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $210.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,244 shares of company stock worth $12,360,478 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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 (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).