Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 150 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,652 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3,660.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $233.97 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59. The firm has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released 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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents 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 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.