Insider Selling: Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Director Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $253.00 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $243.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. 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 Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research 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 firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $239,811,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,595,957 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $365,985,000 after purchasing an additional 959,981 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,161,000 after purchasing an additional 870,903 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $123,415,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,021,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $234,160,000 after purchasing an additional 380,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on LH shares. Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded 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. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.38.

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.