Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases 1,742 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 132.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,056 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LH. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $639,251.40. This represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,504 shares of company stock worth $5,905,692. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH stock opened at $246.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The company has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $237.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

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.