Forte Capital LLC ADV Raises Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Forte Capital LLC ADV increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 54,227 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for 1.4% of Forte Capital LLC ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $12,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LH shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.31.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,989,670. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,832 shares of company stock worth $4,788,995. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:LH opened at $249.15 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $238.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

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.