Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 46.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 653 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 207 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group cut their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $232.63 on Wednesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $244.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.86.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,989,670. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were 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 owns 5,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,314.34. The trade was a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,177. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.