Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Bought by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 608,944 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,437 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $139,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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. Truist Financial reduced 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 research report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.77.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total value of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,137,817.60. The trade was a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,177 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $212.43 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $258.59. 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 stock has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.96.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

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.