Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,678 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,006 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, Bank of America raised 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH stock opened at $253.00 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $243.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.67. 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 stock has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, 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.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

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.