Iridian Asset Management LLC CT Sells 9,393 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Iridian Asset Management LLC CT reduced its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 29.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,216 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,393 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America comprises approximately 1.1% of Iridian Asset Management LLC CT’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $4,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,069,000 after purchasing an additional 14,708 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 17,156 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 141.3% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,580 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 17,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth $473,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $230.56 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $239.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.60, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.