Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Sold by abrdn plc

abrdn plc lowered its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,727 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,272 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.08% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $15,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 65,837 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $15,098,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 982 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $754,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth about $147,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,989 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $639,251.40. This represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,383 shares of company stock worth $4,408,373 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH traded down $0.71 on Monday, reaching $245.56. 260,503 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 599,591. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $236.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 32.65%.

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.