KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 29,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,860,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 223,162 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $51,176,000 after purchasing an additional 24,616 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 921,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $211,246,000 after buying an additional 95,162 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,927 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,818,000 after buying an additional 2,482 shares in the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 4,957 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,841 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LH. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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 research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $236.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.42. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year 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.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. Research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,989,670. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.