Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Purchased by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel owned 0.08% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $15,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 14.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 1,646 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 19.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $2,268,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 37.0% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 86,026 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,232,000 after buying an additional 23,221 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,822,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $249.39 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $236.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.63. The stock has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.71%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,915,209 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LH. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.77.

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.