Truist Financial Corp Trims Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 74.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,565 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 94,294 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $7,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,559 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Argus raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE LH opened at $201.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.70. The company has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The company 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 company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,244 shares of company stock valued at $12,360,478 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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 (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).