Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $15.46 Million Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 67,404 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 13,939 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $15,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% during 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 last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 23.9% during 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 last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $2,316,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $138,718,000 after purchasing an additional 65,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total value of $330,208.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,171 shares in the company, valued at $545,572.30. This trade represents a 37.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. 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 increased their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Three equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $233.97 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $245.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.28. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $258.59. The company has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 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.