Bank of Montreal Can Raises Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 149,191 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $33,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,012,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 47,384 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth about $10,780,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $639,251.40. The trade was a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH opened at $242.15 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $227.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.95. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a PE ratio of 46.84, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Five equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.