Vega Investment Solutions Acquires Shares of 3,966 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,966 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $909,000. Laboratory Co. of America makes up approximately 0.7% of Vega Investment Solutions' portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $138,718,000 after acquiring an additional 65,356 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,943 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $636,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $247.44. The stock had a trading volume of 163,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,211. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $234.55 and its 200 day moving average is $238.26. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is 33.29%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total transaction of $200,833.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $497,602.04. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,431 shares of company stock valued at $3,806,274. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LH. Barclays raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.