Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 1,779 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 190,322 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $43,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 103.7% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,099 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,268 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 4,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH stock opened at $245.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $236.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.99. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The stock has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LH. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America increased their price target 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,989,670. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,383 shares of company stock worth $4,408,373. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.