Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP Sells 1,127 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP reduced its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 36.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,127 shares during the quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,616,000 after acquiring an additional 924,881 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after acquiring an additional 395,197 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,893,000 after acquiring an additional 263,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter valued at $45,567,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,586 shares of company stock valued at $4,175,800. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $227.10 on Monday. 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 Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $239.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $222.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.