Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) COO Mark S. Schroeder Sells 5,339 Shares

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total value of $1,330,638.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. The trade was a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $254.01 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $241.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LH. Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% 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.