BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC Purchases 34,679 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 97.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,679 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC owned approximately 0.08% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $16,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,151 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Boyar Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Boyar Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,756 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 7,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.37% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE LH opened at $211.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $222.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $203.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.93.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The medical research company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 14.09%. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.68 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 13.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 8th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 7th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LH shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $257.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $251.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, September 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.67.

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 and Labcorp Drug Development.