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

Channing Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 43.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 44,731 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 33,723 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $10,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew 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 worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction 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 approximately $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total value of $7,451,828.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,244 shares of company stock worth $12,360,478. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $201.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 555,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 854,788. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.51, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $210.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.87. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LH. TheStreet cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

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).