31,831 Shares in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Purchased by Meridiem Capital Partners LP

Meridiem Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 31,831 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,299,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE LH opened at $250.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.19. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. The stock has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (up from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.36, for a total transaction of $452,884.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,879.84. This trade represents a 45.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,866 shares of company stock valued at $2,674,576 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.