Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 98.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,203 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $29,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Roundview Capital LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.2% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 34,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,175,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 105.7% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,654 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 18.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 89,167 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $23,543,000 after acquiring an additional 14,186 shares during the last quarter. 89.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $257.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. HSBC began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $251.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, September 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 1,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.71, for a total value of $291,622.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $439,751.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $211.10 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $174.20 and a twelve month high of $222.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $203.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The medical research company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 14.09%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.68 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 13.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 8th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 7th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 38.50%.

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 and Labcorp Drug Development.