Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 9,231 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,419 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,231 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $7,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Labcorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Motco acquired a new stake in Labcorp in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Labcorp by 48.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 122 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In related news, EVP Jonathan C. Meltzer sold 87 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.42, for a total transaction of $25,266.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,948.44. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,273 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $1,499,535.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,838,602.34. The trade was a 5.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,860 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,267. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Weiss Ratings raised Labcorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.42.

Labcorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $288.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $268.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.99. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $209.38 and a fifty-two week high of $293.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.03.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical research company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.12. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The company had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.550-18.250 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.53%.

About Labcorp

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp (NYSE: LH), is a global life sciences company that provides comprehensive clinical laboratory and drug development services. The company operates a broad network of laboratories, patient service centers and specialty testing sites to deliver diagnostic information and testing solutions that support patient care, clinical decision-making and population health initiatives.

Labcorp’s core businesses encompass clinical laboratory testing and pharmaceutical development services.