Comerica Bank Trims Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Comerica Bank lowered its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,712 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,036 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $7,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,011,116 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $231,869,000 after buying an additional 9,802 shares during the period. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $431,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $9,779,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $228,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (up from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $276.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $269.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.9 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $2.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $246.11. The stock had a trading volume of 741,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,271. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $234.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.11. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.68 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is 33.29%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total value of $200,833.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,054 shares in the company, valued at $497,602.04. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,987 shares of company stock worth $4,171,895 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.