Raymond James Trust N.A. Raises Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,050 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,450. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $3,312,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:LH traded up $0.71 on Friday, hitting $230.89. 319,299 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,664. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $214.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a PE ratio of 46.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.42.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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).