Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 1,302 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,453 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in 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 worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (up from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.62.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.73, for a total transaction of $1,518,496.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,614,818.26. This represents a 5.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,971 shares of company stock valued at $4,193,073 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:LH opened at $246.18 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $233.37 and a 200 day moving average of $237.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.11. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 33.29%.

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.