Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,453 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital City Trust Co. FL grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 15,553 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,567,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $138,718,000 after buying an additional 65,356 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,394 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $246.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $233.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.44. 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 company has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.29%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,137,817.60. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.73, for a total transaction of $1,518,496.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,962 shares in the company, valued at $24,614,818.26. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,971 shares of company stock valued at $4,193,073. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LH. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of 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. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $280.00 target price (up previously from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.62.

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.