Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $33.78 Million in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 147,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,779,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 96,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 188,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $540,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,735 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,846,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $367,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $235.45 on Friday. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $244.47 and a 200-day moving average of $233.94. The firm has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock 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 target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.38.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,365,624.58. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.