Westpac Banking Corp Lowers Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 97.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,023 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $41,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LH. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,726,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $832,827,000 after acquiring an additional 25,469 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,003,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $458,334,000 after purchasing an additional 39,255 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,357,000 after buying an additional 51,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,822,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $418,042,000 after buying an additional 41,898 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,314.34. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,258 shares of company stock worth $3,753,177. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 4.7 %

NYSE:LH opened at $222.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $243.63 and a 200-day moving average of $234.90.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 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%. Analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

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.