BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 65,035 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 33.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,777 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 65,035 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.15% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $28,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $129,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth approximately $596,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after buying an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $276,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 149,191 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,135,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH stock opened at $241.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $227.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.16. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99. The stock has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 46.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $639,251.40. This represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.