HM Payson & Co. Sells 550 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

HM Payson & Co. lowered its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,340 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 550 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $39,000 after buying 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 worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total transaction of $1,330,638.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,236,180.80. This represents a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.4 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $253.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.