Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

The Company's common stock, par value $0.10 per share, or Common Stock, trades on the New York Stock Exchange or NYSE under the symbol “LH.”

Holders

On February 24, 2022, there were approximately 1,322 holders of record of the Common Stock.

Transfer Agent

The transfer agent for the Company's Common Stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, Shareholder Services, 6201 Fifteenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219, telephone: 800-937-5449, website: www.amstock.com.

Dividends

The Company has not historically paid dividends on its Common Stock. In December 2021, the Company announced that it plans to initiate a quarterly dividend beginning in the second quarter of 2022.

Common Stock Performance

The graph below shows the cumulative total return assuming an investment of $100 on December 31, 2016, in each of the Company’s Common Stock, the Standard & Poor’s, or S&P Composite-500 Stock Index and the S&P 500 Health Care Index, or Peer Group, and assuming that all dividends were reinvested.

Comparison of Cumulative Total Return

Index

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities (all amounts in millions, except per share amounts)

The following table sets forth information with respect to purchases of shares of the Company’s Common Stock made during the quarter ended December 31, 2021, by or on behalf of the Company, inclusive of amounts paid in respect of the accelerated share repurchase agreements (collectively, the ASR Agreements) for which the Company received 80% of the shares calculated at the price at the inception of the Agreements:

At the end of 2020, the Company had outstanding authorization from the board of directors (Board) to purchase $800.0 of Company common stock. On December 8, 2021, the Board adopted a new share repurchase plan authorizing repurchase of up to $2,500.0 of the Company's shares in addition to the remaining amount outstanding under the previous plan. On December 13, 2021, the Company entered into the ASR Agreements with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Barclays Bank PLC (collectively, the Financial Institutions) to repurchase approximately $1,000.0 in the aggregate of the Company’s common stock (Common Stock), as part of the Company’s Common Stock repurchase program. The repurchase authorization has no expiration date.

During the first 11 months of 2021, the Company purchased 2.5 shares of its common stock at an average price of $270.55 for a total cost of $668.5. Under the ASR Agreements in December 2021, $1,000.0 was paid to the banks and the Company received 80% of the shares calculated at the price at the inception of the Agreements, approximately 2.7 shares. When the forward contract is settled during the first half of 2022, and the Company receives the remaining shares, an additional adjustment to Common Stock and additional paid-in-capital / retained earnings will be recorded. The specific number of shares that the Company ultimately will repurchase under the ASR Agreements will be based generally on the average of the daily volume-weighted average price per share of the Common Stock during a repurchase period, less a discount and subject to adjustments pursuant to the terms and conditions of the ASR Agreements. The ASR Agreements contain provisions customary for agreements of this type, including provisions for adjustments to the transaction terms, the circumstances generally under which the ASR Agreements may be accelerated, extended or terminated early by the Financial Institutions and various acknowledgments, representations and warranties made by the parties to one another. The initial shares received under the ASR have been removed from the outstanding share count and the final settlement is expected to be completed by the end of April 2022.

When the Company repurchases shares, the amount paid to repurchase the shares in excess of the par or stated value is allocated to additional paid-in-capital unless subject to limitation or the balance in additional paid-in-capital is exhausted. Remaining amounts are recognized as a reduction in retained earnings. At the end of 2021, the Company had outstanding authorization from the Board to purchase up to $1,631.5 of the Company's common stock.