Boston Partners Increases Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 545,438 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,694 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 0.62% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $131,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 6,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,597,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,131,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 7,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,718,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Payden & Rygel acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth about $8,592,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.37% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $211.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $203.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.93. The company has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $222.33.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The medical research company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 13.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 7th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, September 15th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $247.41 to $231.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $251.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.67.

Laboratory Co. of America 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 and Labcorp Drug Development.