Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 599,551 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 50,165 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.72% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $137,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital City Trust Co. FL boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 15,553 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth approximately $955,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth approximately $2,316,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total value of $56,590.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,989,670. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $253.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $243.68 and its 200 day moving average is $233.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

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.