Channing Capital Management LLC Sells 33,723 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Channing Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 43.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,731 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 33,723 shares during the quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $10,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total value of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,812.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.10, for a total value of $50,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,145,972.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total value of $7,451,828.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,244 shares of company stock valued at $12,360,478 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $201.32. The company had a trading volume of 555,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 854,788. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $234.09. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.51, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $210.12 and a 200 day moving average of $214.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).