Empirical Finance LLC Increases Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 8.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,745,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 8.2% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,307 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,432 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at about $367,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $235.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $224.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.73. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its 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. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This represents a 35.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,190,936. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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.