Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Bought by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 275.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,475 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,559 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $11,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $239,811,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,161,000 after purchasing an additional 870,903 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $123,415,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth about $33,779,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $232.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.78. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $19.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,314.34. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,177 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.92.

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.