Iridian Asset Management LLC CT Has $4.70 Million Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Iridian Asset Management LLC CT lowered its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,721 shares during the quarter. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for about 1.3% of Iridian Asset Management LLC CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $4,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after acquiring an additional 263,105 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the third 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 284,097 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,490,000 after buying an additional 77,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on LH. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the 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 trade represents a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,915,209 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $247.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.34. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $258.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.