2Xideas AG Has $12.89 Million Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

2Xideas AG increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 49.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,495 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America comprises about 1.7% of 2Xideas AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. 2Xideas AG owned about 0.07% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $12,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $222.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $243.63 and its 200 day moving average is $234.90. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $258.59. 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, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,177. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.38.

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.