Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Invests $1.91 Million in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,909,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,228,314.34. The trade was a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,258 shares of company stock worth $3,753,177. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LH. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $276.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upgraded 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 research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 4.7 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $222.49 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $243.63 and a 200 day moving average of $234.95.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. 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.