Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,758 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,758 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,483,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LH traded up $0.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $242.69. 503,833 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 642,309. 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 capitalization of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 33.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total transaction of $200,833.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at $497,602.04. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total transaction of $330,208.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,171 shares in the company, valued at $545,572.30. This represents a 37.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,971 shares of company stock valued at $4,193,073. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.62.

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.