Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 237 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,388 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $5,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $16,512,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 57,192 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,115,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,945 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 14,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total value of $1,330,638.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. The trade was a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $253.00 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. 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 $21.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average is $243.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.67.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.38.

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.