Freedom Investment Management Inc. Invests $379,000 in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,654 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,314.34. The trade was a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LH. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $274.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of LH opened at $212.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $236.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.96. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.36%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

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.