Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 5,861 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,877 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,861 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LH. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $354,528,000 after purchasing an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 577,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $128,990,000 after acquiring an additional 105,443 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 37.8% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 284,097 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,490,000 after acquiring an additional 77,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,052,927 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,321,000 after acquiring an additional 68,974 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH stock opened at $249.86 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $238.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.82. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.65%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $241,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,592. This trade represents a 11.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,832 shares of company stock valued at $4,788,995 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.31.

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.