Hershey Financial Advisers LLC Buys New Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,682,000. Laboratory Co. of America makes up about 1.5% of Hershey Financial Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,726,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $832,827,000 after buying an additional 25,469 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,964,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,561,000 after acquiring an additional 13,298 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,357,000 after acquiring an additional 51,045 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,822,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $418,042,000 after acquiring an additional 41,898 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LH shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $233.97 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $258.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $245.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.36.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572 in the last ninety 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.