Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Position Increased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,607 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LH. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,058 shares of company stock worth $4,845,585. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $251.84 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $21.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $240.32 and a 200-day moving average of $232.34.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LH. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.75.

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.