Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,783 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 15,553 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $2,316,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $138,718,000 after buying an additional 65,356 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $236.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $245.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.42. The company has a market cap of $19.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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