MML Investors Services LLC Purchases 82 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $4,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LH. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH opened at $232.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $230.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.19. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during 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%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.38 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LH. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays boosted 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.67.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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.