Financial Counselors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 56,999 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 556 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $13,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LH. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on LH shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Barclays reduced their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE LH opened at $233.15 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $245.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.48. The stock has a market cap of $19.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. 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 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.