Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 115 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,724 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 946 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 84,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,190,000 after purchasing an additional 19,557 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,652 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, SFE Investment Counsel grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 10,527 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $203.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $174.20 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.81. The company has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 43.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.14 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 61.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,727.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $863,727.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,881.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.50.

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).