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

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 253,950 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,325 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $58,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LH. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $276.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.62.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total transaction of $330,208.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,171 shares in the company, valued at $545,572.30. This represents a 37.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total transaction of $200,833.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $497,602.04. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,866 shares of company stock worth $2,674,576 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $250.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $233.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.19. The company has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.29%.

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.