SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $52,000 in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 228 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after acquiring an additional 230,708 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 577,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $128,990,000 after purchasing an additional 105,443 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,512,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,052,927 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,321,000 after purchasing an additional 68,974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LH shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $243.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.85.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. This trade represents a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572. Insiders own 0.85% 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.