Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,787 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $639,251.40. This represents a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,383 shares of company stock valued at $4,408,373 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LH shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $245.14 on Tuesday. 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 Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $236.67 and a 200 day moving average of $229.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.65%.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.