Truist Financial Corp Sells 94,294 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Truist Financial Corp lowered its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 74.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,565 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 94,294 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $7,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital grew 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 worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,559 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total transaction of $498,360.87. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,244 shares of company stock worth $12,360,478 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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, April 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $201.32. 555,654 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,788. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $210.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.82 EPS. The business's 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

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).