Procyon Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 876 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,003,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $458,334,000 after purchasing an additional 39,255 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,357,000 after acquiring an additional 51,045 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,822,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $418,042,000 after acquiring an additional 41,898 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,620,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $371,688,000 after acquiring an additional 34,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 150.9% during the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,595,957 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $365,985,000 after acquiring an additional 959,981 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of LH stock opened at $255.74 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $192.38 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $237.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.00, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 target price (up from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Brian J. Caveney sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $494,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,426,549. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.73, for a total transaction of $1,518,496.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,962 shares in the company, valued at $24,614,818.26. This represents a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,592 shares of company stock worth $2,841,820. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.