Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires New Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 51,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,397,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned about 0.06% of Laboratory Co. of America at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LH. SouthState Corp bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $242.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $227.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $217.95. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total value of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,251.40. The trade was a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

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.