Bessemer Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 295.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,483 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,603 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $268.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total value of $1,330,638.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value 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 approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,177. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH traded down $3.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $217.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 762,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,009. The company has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.98. 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 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

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.