Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Sells 438 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lessened its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 438 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% in the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 88.4% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 260 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 50.3% in the first quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE LH traded up $2.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $227.50. The stock had a trading volume of 438,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 717,040. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $238.46. The stock has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 45.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $210.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.38. 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 (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 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, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LH. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.42.

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).