Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,935 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,459 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $32,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LH. FMR LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after purchasing an additional 230,708 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 577,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $128,990,000 after buying an additional 105,443 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 37.8% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 284,097 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $63,490,000 after acquiring an additional 77,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,052,927 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,321,000 after acquiring an additional 68,974 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $246.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $237.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total value of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $639,251.40. This represents a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,504 shares of company stock worth $5,905,692. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on LH. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.31.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.