Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 69 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,917 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Barclays dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.75.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $251.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $241.20 and a 200 day moving average of $232.70.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts predict 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total value of $330,208.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,572.30. The trade was a 37.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,372 shares of company stock valued at $5,175,793 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.