Truist Financial Corp Boosts Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,991 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $5,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,806 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,937,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 631 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,324 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mcrae Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 84,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $241,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,592. This represents a 11.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,832 shares of company stock worth $4,788,995 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.3 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $249.86 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $238.93 and a 200 day moving average of $231.69. The stock has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS 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, sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.