New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 8.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,995 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,426 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $14,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. &PARTNERS bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $478,000. American National Bank boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.5% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 48,061 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,781,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Busey Bank grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% during the second quarter. Busey Bank now owns 61,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,513,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth approximately $342,000. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 9,035 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $230.89 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $214.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.42.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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).