Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the fourth 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. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total value of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,058 shares of company stock worth $4,845,585. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $251.84 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59. The stock has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $240.32 and a 200-day moving average of $232.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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, topping 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%. As a group, analysts predict 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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, Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.75.

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.