Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 28,229 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 320,152 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,229 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.38% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $73,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $239.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.04. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total transaction of $1,330,638.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,236,180.80. The trade was a 51.84 % 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, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.