Sector Gamma AS Sells 14,171 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sector Gamma AS decreased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 14,171 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America comprises 2.8% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sector Gamma AS owned about 0.06% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $11,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $34,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LH. Truist Financial reduced 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. 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. Finally, 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 for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $198.40. 931,317 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 745,511. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business 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 earned $3.82 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.95%.

Laboratory Co. of America 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).