New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 26,313 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 26,313 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $29,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $241,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,592. This trade represents a 11.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,832 shares of company stock valued at $4,788,995. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $249.15 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $258.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $238.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.31.

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.