FIL Ltd Sells 9,923 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

FIL Ltd decreased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 382,444 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,923 shares during the period. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $87,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $239,811,000. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $263,161,000 after purchasing an additional 870,903 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $123,415,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 380,624 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $230.84 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $241.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.80. 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 company has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total transaction of $330,208.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,572.30. The trade was a 37.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,177 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.