abrdn plc Cuts Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

abrdn plc cut its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,727 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,272 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $15,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after buying an additional 263,105 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the 3rd 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 577,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $128,990,000 after purchasing an additional 105,443 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 37.8% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 284,097 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $63,490,000 after purchasing an additional 77,921 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of LH stock opened at $247.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a PE ratio of 47.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $236.46 and its 200 day moving average is $229.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LH. Barclays raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.62.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,251.40. This trade represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,915,209. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.