Holderness Investments Co. Buys 203 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Holderness Investments Co. raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,957 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,841 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 67,404 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,457,000 after buying an additional 13,939 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 12,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,847,000. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 22,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,061,000 after buying an additional 10,834 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total value of $1,330,638.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,236,180.80. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $235.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $245.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on 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, StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.38.

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.