Brandes Investment Partners LP Raises Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 568,724 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,002 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for about 1.5% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $130,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,660.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LH shares. Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note 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. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $239.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.01. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced 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 return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. As a group, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. 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.