Meixler Investment Management Ltd. Sells 115 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Meixler Investment Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Meixler Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LH. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Arjuna Capital boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the third 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. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $49,588.15. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.0 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $198.40. The stock had a trading volume of 931,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 745,511. The company has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $211.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.75. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.85 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective 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. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).