Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 8,326 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,909,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Capital City Trust Co. FL grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 15,553 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $138,718,000 after purchasing an additional 65,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,052,927 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,321,000 after purchasing an additional 68,974 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 4.7 %

NYSE:LH opened at $222.49 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $243.63 and a 200 day moving average of $234.95.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.38.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total transaction of $175,605.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,314.34. The trade was a 12.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,258 shares of company stock worth $3,753,177 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is 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.