Sterling Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,198 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,811,000. Amundi boosted 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 acquiring an additional 870,903 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $123,415,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,021,104 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $234,160,000 after purchasing an additional 380,624 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $5.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $211.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,704. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $237.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.98. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59. The company has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors 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 1.36%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $274.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to 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 other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,314.34. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,177 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.