Essex Financial Services Inc. Reduces Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $241.05 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $236.85 and a 200 day moving average of $230.48. The stock has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 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 (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 expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 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 issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,989,670. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,383 shares of company stock valued at $4,408,373. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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