Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 4,890 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 58,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,890 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $13,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,811,000. Amundi increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $123,415,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $354,528,000 after acquiring an additional 230,708 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total transaction of $1,330,638.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. The trade was a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total value of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,137,817.60. The trade was a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on LH. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.8 %

LH opened at $229.75 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a PEG 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $244.80 and its 200-day moving average is $234.69. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year 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 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.