UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Raises Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,726,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $832,827,000 after acquiring an additional 25,469 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,964,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $437,561,000 after purchasing an additional 13,298 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the third 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,357,000 after buying an additional 51,045 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,822,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $418,042,000 after buying an additional 41,898 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on LH. Bank of America increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $229.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $258.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted 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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.