Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Reduces Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,565 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,515 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $7,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 79.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,551 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 225,840 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $51,790,000 after purchasing an additional 3,978 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 357,588 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $82,002,000 after buying an additional 7,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,722 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH stock traded up $3.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $249.60. 560,711 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 642,239. The firm has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $233.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.41 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. Laboratory Co. of America's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.15%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on LH. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $276.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,314.34. This represents a 12.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.73, for a total value of $1,518,496.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,614,818.26. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,971 shares of company stock worth $4,193,073. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.