Allstate Corp Acquires New Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,578 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $591,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $232.63 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $19.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 $545,572.30. The trade was a 37.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,177. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.92.

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.