United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 159 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during 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 in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in 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 increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings 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 worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total value of $56,590.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $276.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $217.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $237.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.73.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.