GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,577 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,074 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $8,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 86,026 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,232,000 after purchasing an additional 23,221 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $1,189,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,822,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total value of $239,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $639,251.40. This trade represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,915,209 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.46.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.4 %

LH opened at $250.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $236.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.34. The company has a market capitalization of $20.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.36, a PEG ratio of 1.86 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.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. Analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.51 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

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.