American Century Companies Inc. Buys 95,162 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 921,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 95,162 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $211,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,660.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $233.97 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. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.31.

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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total transaction of $1,330,638.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.