National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 301.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,171 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,414 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $8,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,811,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $263,161,000 after purchasing an additional 870,903 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $123,415,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,021,104 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $234,160,000 after buying an additional 380,624 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

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Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 3.7 %

LH traded down $8.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $222.02. 254,730 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 631,769. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $241.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.80. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. As a group, research 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 paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 32.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. The trade was a 4.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,177. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.