Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lowered its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 306 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $34,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE LH traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $198.40. 931,317 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 745,511. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $174.20 and a 1 year high of $234.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $211.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.85.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LH. TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI began coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.14.

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).