Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 599,551 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,165 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.72% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $137,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,726,627 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $832,827,000 after acquiring an additional 25,469 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,978,686 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $442,197,000 after purchasing an additional 29,046 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,964,743 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $437,561,000 after purchasing an additional 13,298 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $437,357,000 after purchasing an additional 51,045 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 1.9 %
Shares of LH stock traded down $4.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $239.44. The company had a trading volume of 917,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company's fifty day moving average is $243.98 and its 200 day moving average is $233.85. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59.
Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.
Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated 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 $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have recently commented on LH. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group cut 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on 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, StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $268.38.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LH
About Laboratory Co. of America
(
Free Report)
Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.
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