Bank of Nova Scotia Has $6.35 Million Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 125.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,675 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 15,420 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $6,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LH. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $239,811,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,415,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,021,104 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $234,160,000 after purchasing an additional 380,624 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.9 %

LH stock traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $226.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 591,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,809. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $239.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.95. 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 stock has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is 32.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $276.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $274.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.77.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,228,314.34. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

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.