Woodline Partners LP Acquires 21,734 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,995 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,734 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.17% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $32,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,003,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $458,334,000 after purchasing an additional 39,255 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 worth $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $437,357,000 after acquiring an additional 51,045 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,822,964 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $418,042,000 after acquiring an additional 41,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,620,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $371,688,000 after acquiring an additional 34,429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $250.73 on Wednesday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. 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 $20.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $234.13 and its 200 day moving average is $237.95.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.73, for a total transaction of $1,518,496.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,614,818.26. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total transaction of $200,833.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $497,602.04. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,971 shares of company stock valued at $4,193,073 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LH shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 target price (up from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research 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 for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $276.00 price target for the company. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.62.

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.