White Pine Capital LLC Invests $236,000 in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

White Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,037 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. TheStreet cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.14.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $1,407,387.33. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,272.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $1,407,387.33. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,272.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of LH stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $198.40. 931,317 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 745,511. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $174.20 and a 1 year high of $234.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $211.70 and a 200 day moving average of $214.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company 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).