First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 69,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,682 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $15,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $138,718,000 after purchasing an additional 65,356 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $604,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 25,597 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,955,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $228.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. 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 twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.28.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share 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 anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LH. Barclays reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased 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. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $274.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.77.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total transaction of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,314.34. This trade represents a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,365,624.58. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company 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.