Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 1,205 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 22.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,525 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $955,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,316,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $138,718,000 after buying an additional 65,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $527,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of LH opened at $238.44 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $234.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 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. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.54.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,572 shares of company stock valued at $6,145,209 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.