Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,108 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 428 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $4,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.9% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,844 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,383 shares of company stock valued at $4,408,373 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $245.14 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.99. The stock has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.