Ariel Investments LLC Sells 21,581 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Ariel Investments LLC reduced its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 389,139 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 21,581 shares during the quarter. Ariel Investments LLC owned about 0.47% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $89,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,003,998 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $458,334,000 after purchasing an additional 39,255 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $437,357,000 after purchasing an additional 51,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,822,964 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $418,042,000 after buying an additional 41,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,620,826 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $371,688,000 after buying an additional 34,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH traded up $2.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $246.11. The company had a trading volume of 741,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,271. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.38. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.41 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.29%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the business's 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 directly owns 86,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total transaction of $1,330,638.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares in the company, 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 sold a total of 16,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,171,895 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on LH shares. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $269.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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