SP Asset Management LLC Has $3.48 Million Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

SP Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the quarter. SP Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $3,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $354,528,000 after purchasing an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $33,779,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 577,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $128,990,000 after buying an additional 105,443 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $16,512,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,449,757 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of LH opened at $254.31 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. 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 $242.77 and a 200-day moving average of $233.34.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LH. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

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.