Weitz Investment Management Inc. Sells 175 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Weitz Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 236,175 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Laboratory Co. of America comprises about 2.8% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $54,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Norges Bank bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $239,811,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 870,903 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,415,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,021,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $234,160,000 after acquiring an additional 380,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings 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 worth $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $232.63 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.45 and a 200-day moving average of $234.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, 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, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total value of $1,330,638.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,177. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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 equities 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.92.

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.