Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Acquired by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,687 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $67,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LH. Amundi lifted its stake 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 valued at $263,161,000 after acquiring an additional 870,903 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $354,528,000 after purchasing an additional 230,708 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $33,779,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake 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 valued at $128,990,000 after purchasing an additional 105,443 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $243.93 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $243.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total value of $1,330,638.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. This represents a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LH. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

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.