Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 147,302 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 147,302 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $33,779,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.18% of Laboratory Co. of America as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,811,000. Amundi boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $263,161,000 after purchasing an additional 870,903 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $123,415,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% in the fourth 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. lifted its stake 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 valued at $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased 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 note on Thursday, April 10th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $6.79 on Tuesday, reaching $219.01. 113,668 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 684,226. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $236.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.96.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total value of $56,590.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,137,817.60. The trade was a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.